


Reviving Old Magic

by Miss_Ebony



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cause it's Yuuri, Drunk Shenanigans, Fantasizing, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Getting Together, Light Angst, M/M, Masturbation, Oblivious Yuri, Pining Viktor, Sickfic Elements, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Yuuko is a Good Bro, drunk Viktor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-06
Updated: 2017-02-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 12:55:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8490649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Ebony/pseuds/Miss_Ebony
Summary: Yuuri stopped his wondering when the man reappeared at the rink-board, stepping onto the ice, his blades running smoothly over the cool surface. Then he took off at a leisurely pace, his movements fluid and surprisingly beautiful. He skated some rounds at that pace, changing now and then from skating forwards to skating backwards, and it looked so natural, so easy, like he'd never done anything else in his life, like he'd learned skating before walking.At this point, Yuuri was already enraptured by this man even though he didn't realize it right away.-- AU where Yuuri never started a career as a professional ice and figure skater and thus has absolutely no idea who Viktor is.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm pretty sure that I'll change the rating at some point and that I'll add more tags as I go, but for now I'll just leave it like this. ;3

"Welcome to Hasetsu Ice Castle! How may I be of assistance?" Yuuri greeted the little girl peeking over the counter of the skate rental.

"Uhm, I need some skates! Mommy says size 3.5!" The little girl beamed up at Yuuri, starting to bounce excitedly as he started to search for a fitting pair. When he'd found one, he set the relatively small skates on the counter and watched the girl's eyes starting to glitter with excitement.

He had to smile at her enthusiasm before asking, "Do you know how to put them on, or should I help you?"

"I can put them on all by myself! Mommy showed me how to do so!" After proudly declaring this, she grabbed the skates from the counter and dashed off to one of the many benches around the ice rink. She was welcomed by a woman who was most likely her mother since she ruffled the little girl's hair before dropping a kiss onto it.

Yuuri watched them with a small smile. When he'd been a little boy himself, he'd come to visit the ice rink too. Well, it hadn't exactly been because of his enthusiasm or anything, but rather because of Yuuko's enthusiasm. She'd been crazy about ice skating, dragging him along whenever she could and as often as she could. Sure, he could've turned her down, but Yuuko had always been someone who was hard to say no to. That might have also been because Yuuri had had a teeny tiny crush on her.

So, even though his skating skills had always been...unexceptional, he'd always accompanied Yuuko, even if it had been just to cheer for her and watch her from the benches. But at some point, when they grew older and busier, Yuuko wouldn't come as often to the ice rink as she'd used to. So there had no longer been any reason for Yuuri to come as well. He started to help his parents out with the onsen, Yuuko married Takeshi, they got children and ended up running the ice rink together... So, yeah, the ice had somehow lost its magic, and before Yuuri knew, years had passed without him setting a single foot on the ice.

Not that he'd missed it or anything. After all, he'd never really been a good ice skater to begin with. The bruises he'd gotten back then reminded him of that. So it'd been only legitimate for him to think that he and the ice would never become best friends. But apparently Yuuko had had other plans for him this winter.

Winter is always the busiest season for Hasetsu Ice Castle, so Yuuko and Takeshi have their hands always full. But this year poor Takeshi slipped a disc which put him totally out of action. So Yuuko was a bit at a loss to know what to do with the ice rink until she asked Yuuri as her last hope to help her out.

And now here he was, helping the Nishigoris by renting out skates and having a good look on the ice rink for Yuuko while she was welcoming the people at the entrance, taking the money and engaging them in small talk. Basically all the things that involved being nice and talking to strangers. Which Yuuri wasn't good at. So he was just happy with only needing to ask what size the people needed before being alone again, turning back to watching the people on the ice.

Today was only his second day helping Yuuko out, but he'd already gotten quite used to the routine of welcoming people, going through the stock of rental skates and watching the people leave again. Sure, it was livelier here than in the onsen, but he'd come to like it. Especially watching the people.

There were all different kinds of skaters: there were the kids, like the little girl from before, with their parents; groups of young people, most of the time girls, who rather stood around and chatted than really skated; and later the day there'd come those who Yuuko called 'the cool kids'. Those boys, and sometimes girls, who wanted to show off with their skills.

They skated backwards, chased each other at a breakneck pace and braked at the very last moment in front of the rink-boards, their blades sending flakes of ice flying. They were all show-offs, Yuuri thought, only happy if they could impress each other. They came when they had an audience and left when it was gone.

So this evening, there were only some 'cool kids' left, skating one round after the other, when another man arrived. Okay, men arriving at the ice rink wasn't out of the ordinary, but that man kind of stood out. He had silver hair and seemed a tad older than the clientele usually arriving at this hour. But there was something about the way he moved, about his aura that caught Yuuri's attention. He couldn't really pinpoint it, but that man had something charismatic about him.

He didn't need to come to Yuuri for rental skates though, since he'd brought along his own skates. Which Yuuri thought was a huge pity. He would've loved to see his face at a closer range. But from where he stood, he could only make out that the man seemed to have very handsome features. He didn't exactly look Japanese, so Yuuri wondered even more just what it was about this man.

The silver haired man rounded the ice rink and took a seat on one of the benches to put on his skates. That was when Yuuri started to wonder how this man would skate. Would he be a show-off like the ‘cool kids’? No, Yuuri thought, he looked too calm and too composed to be a show-off, unlike the always noisy ‘cool kids’. He also didn't bring along any friends as an audience. So perhaps he would skate all to himself.

Maybe he did it as a sport? Like some people would go jogging, he'd go skating? After all, Yuuri could tell from where he was standing behind the counter that the man seemed to be well built. Or maybe it was just a hobby of his?

Yuuri stopped his wondering when the man reappeared at the rink-board, stepping onto the ice, his blades running smoothly over the cool surface. Then he took off at a leisurely pace, his movements fluid and surprisingly beautiful. He skated some rounds at that pace, changing now and then from skating forwards to skating backwards, and it looked so natural, so _easy_ , like he'd never done anything else in his life, like he'd learned skating before walking. At this point, Yuuri was already enraptured by this man even though he didn't realize it right away.

But it seemed like this had only been the man's warm up. What followed now seemed to Yuuri like something you'd see in a movie, something you'd definitely not expect to see in a small ice rink like Hasetsu Ice Castle.

It didn't seem like the man was skating anymore but rather _dancing_. And not dancing on the ice but _with_ the ice. Those step sequences and jumps he performed looked like they were as simple as breathing, it looked like it was almost effortless to grace the ice in such a beautiful way. But even though Yuuri had absolutely no knowledge regarding skating or figure skating, he did know that the man's performance was anything but simple or effortless.

Yeah, he just had to call the man's skating a performance. But Yuuri wondered just for whom he was performing. There were just a handful of people left in the ice rink, and Yuuri was sure that the man didn't think of them as an audience. It rather seemed like he didn't notice them at all, like he was the only one on the ice. Well, and right now he was definitely the only person on the ice for Yuuri. He just couldn't take his eyes off the man, they were glued to his every movement.

It was like this man was bringing the ice's lost magic back to life, his blades carved magical spells into it which enthralled Yuuri. And without realizing it, Yuuri had fallen under the man's spell.

At some point, Yuuri had lost track of time while watching the silver haired skater. He didn't notice the other skaters leave either. But at some point, Yuuri was brought back to the here and now by an annoyed sounding voice.

"Helloooo, earth to four-eyes!! Are you even listening to me? I said I wanna return the damned skates, dammit!"

It was only then that Yuuri noticed the annoyed teenager in front of the counter, whose fingers were drumming an angry staccato on it. Yuuri swallowed thickly, noticing that his mouth had been hanging slightly open from when he'd watched the man skating. As he realized that he hadn't even sensed the guy's _presence_ at that time, he blushed a deep shade of red.

"I-I'm sorry, but what did you say?" he needed to ask because he had absolutely no idea what the boy had said. God, this was embarrassing.

"Man, are you dump? You wanna pick a fight or something? I said. I. Wanna. Return. The. Damned. Skates. Dammit. Got it now?" The boy stressed every single word, his eyes glittering dangerously.

"Y-Yeah, sure! I am so sorry!" Yuuri hastily said. Then he hurriedly took the skates from the teenager and returned his id card, which they took as a deposit from everyone who wanted to rent a pair of skates.

The boy snatched it from his hand with an irritated "Tss!" before saying, "Get your head outta the clouds man, or else I'll smash it in the next time!" Then he flipped Yuuri off before stomping out of the ice rink.

Yuuri let out a heavy sigh, tucking the skates back into the shelf where they belonged.

"Aw man," he muttered to himself, "only my second day and I already fucked up."

"No you didn't! That guy was an asshole! I'll have a talk with him the next time I see him!"

Yuuri slightly startled before turning around to find Yuuko leaning against the door of the rental room, arms crossed over her chest, shaking her head disapprovingly.

"Y-Yu-chan! How long have you been standing there?" he asked surprisedly, feeling his cheeks slightly heat up.

"Long enough to witness that brat’s shitty attitude. But don't sweat it, sometimes you just have to deal with such bad-tempered idiots." Yuuko came to stand beside him, letting one hand fall onto his shoulder before gripping it tightly and starting to shake him. "But, Yuuri, you don't have to put up with everything! If you come across such a brat, just show him the ropes!" 

Yuuri just laughed nervously before shrugging Yuuko's hand off. "Yu-chan, you know I'm not that kind of person."

Yuuko slightly shook her head before sighing, "That's the problem. But whatever. I'll have a word with him the next time I see him. But let's wrap things up for now, and then let's go home."

Yuuko turned to leave the rental room, but Yuuri held her back by saying, "Ah, wait! What about the - "

But when Yuuri went back to the counter to look for the silver haired man, he was already gone.

"What about what?" Yuuko asked, coming to stand next to him to stare into the ice rink. "There's no one left. After all, it’s already ten minutes after closing time."

She turned to look at him, raising one eyebrow, prompting him like this to say something.

"Uh, yeah, you're right," he said, scratching the back of his head. While watching the man earlier, he hadn't even noticed that it was already that late. How strange. "But, Yu-chan, do you know who this silver haired man is who came earlier?"

"Oh, you mean the one who skates like a young god?" Yuuko asked, tapping at her lower lip.

"Y-Yeah, exactly."

"Hmmm, that's what I've been asking myself too. He comes here quite often. Pretty often, to be precise. But always at a relatively late hour. Once I tried to engage him in some small talk, trying to figure out just who he is and how he became so good at ice skating. But he wasn't exactly forthcoming, and I didn't want to pry, so..." Yuuko shrugged, indicating that she didn't get any information.

“I-I see,” Yuuri said, staring at the ice as if he hoped that the man would magically reappear. Which, of course, wouldn’t happen. That was when he suddenly felt an odd sadness starting to claim his mind, but before the feeling could manifest, he hurried to say, “I guess it can’t be helped. So let’s wrap things up for now!”

So it seemed like the silver haired skater would remain a mystery man for the time being. But, Yuuri thought, if the man came here pretty often, that fact might change at some point.

\------

Yuuri was leaning against the counter of the skate rental, watching with glittering eyes the beautiful, silver haired man. It was already into his second week of helping out at Hasetsu Ice Castle, and this evening was already the fourth time he was allowed to watch the man’s dreamlike performance.

Even though he still didn’t know his name, Yuuri had noticed some other things about the man which he hadn’t noticed the first time he saw him. Like the weird dog-like tissue box he always took with him, or the way his eyes fell shut when he blogged out the rest of the ice rink, fully concentrating on his skating. And the color of his eyes: even though he hadn’t been able to catch a glimpse at them at close range, they seemed to be of a pure light azure, reminding of the color of the ocean in summer.

This evening, the silver haired man was the only one still on the ice, so Yuuri could watch him starry-eyed without needing to worry about skaters wanting to return their rental skates without him noticing. He could watch him at total ease. Or so he’d thought.

“Yuuri, I can’t believe you! Here you stand, staring into space even though the ice is basically screaming for you to skate on it! What are you doing? C’mon and put some skates on!”

Yuuko firmly smacked him on the back, jolting him rather ungently from his reverie. He turned to stare at her with wide eyes, adjusting his glasses which had slipped down his nose. “Yu-chan, what are you talking about? You know I can’t skate.”

“Ha!” Yuuko brought a finger up to stab him at the chest. “That’s what you keep telling yourself. But I know from back when we were still kids that you were always doing just fine. You just didn’t want to skate any longer after that one time you fell and sprained your elbow!”

“Well, in my eyes that’s a pretty legitimate reason to stop skating and say that I can’t skate,” he said rather nervously because he already feared the outcome of this conversation. He wouldn’t set a single foot on the ice. At least not as long as the silver haired man was still skating.

“But Yuuri, it’s been years since that incident! Don’t be a coward! And besides, I’m not asking you to skate all alone. After all, I’d love to skate with you again after such a long time. ‘Cause I think you can’t deny that we always had fun together.” Yuuko made big puppy eyes at him, trying her level best to convince him of skating with her.

“B-But, Yu-chan, I can’t, I mean – “

“No ifs and buts! You’ll see, I’m doing you a favor here! So, what’s your shoe size?”

“W-Well, it’s 10. But Yu-chan listen to me! I really can’t go skating right now!” Yuuri desperately tried to convince Yuuko of the fact that he really couldn’t go skating right now. After all, he really _really_ didn’t want to humiliate himself with his poor skating skills in front of the man who skated like a young god. But Yuuko already went through the shelves, pulling out a fitting pair for Yuuri.

“Here you are. A nice pair of skates which will remind you just how much fun skating is!” Yuuko thrust the skates into his hands, a gesture which indicated that he should stop his fruitless protesting and finally put the skates on. Yuuko was still hard to say no to, but he had to _try_.

“But I’m telling you I can’t right now!”

“Oh come on Yuuri, what’s wrong? Are you perhaps not feeling well? Or what is it?” Yuuko crossed her arms over her chest, slightly tilting her head.

“No, I’m fine. It’s just that…” he let the sentence trail off, stealing a glance at the ice where the man was still skating beautifully all to himself.

“Well?” Yuuko prompted, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Okay, fine!” Yuuri surrendered, letting out a small sigh. “It’s because of _him_.”

“Him? Who ‘him’? C’mon Yuuri, don’t beat around the bush. Spit it out already!” Yuuko narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him, waiting for him to go on.

“It’s because of _him_!” Yuuri repeated, this time nodding his head in the general direction of the silver haired skater.

Yuuko’s eyes went wide with surprise at that. “Because of the young god? Oh Yuuri, I bet there’s enough ice for the three of us to skate on.”

“No, it’s not because of that,” Yuuri sighed, putting the skates he’d still been holding on the counter. “It’s like you said: He’s a young god. And I’m – Well, you’re good at skating, but I’m not even sure if I’m able to skate in a straight line.”

A small smile appeared on Yuuko’s face as she took a step closer to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. “Yuuri, you don’t need to impress anyone, and you’re not going to humiliate yourself. I’ll be with you, and I’ll help you. Back then you’ve been able to skate in a straight line, and today you’ll still be able to do so. After all, skating is like riding a bike: You can’t unlearn it. And besides, no one is born a master. I bet even the young god had to start from zero to get where he is now.”

Yuuri stared at Yuuko for a short moment before saying, “I-I guess you’re right.”

“Now, that’s what I’ve wanted to hear!” Yuuko grinned, letting go of Yuuri’s shoulder. “Now put those skates on, and I’ll show you just how good you really are!”

\-------

“Yuuri, I really don’t know what you’ve been fretting about. You’re doing great,” Yuuko beamed at him.

Well, it had taken him some time to reacquaint with the feeling of blades running over ice, but by now, Yuuri felt like he could skate a _good_ straight line. Yuuko was skating backwards in front of him, watching his every movement and giving him the occasional advice. Sure, at the moment he couldn’t skate backwards or anything, but he felt like he was doing just fine. But he still couldn’t help but always steal a glance at the silver haired man, hoping that he wouldn’t see the times when Yuuri faltered or lost his balance.

At some point, Yuuri thought that just skating one round after the other at the same pace was kind of embarrassing. So he picked up his pace, rounding Yuuko, trying to go even faster now that he was able to roam freely. 

“Yuuri, watch out!” he heard Yuuko call after him. “Slow down or else you’ll – ” Yuuko didn’t even get the chance to say it before it happened.

Maybe one of his blades had caught in the ice or something like that, Yuuri couldn’t tell for sure. The only thing he could tell for sure was that he was hitting the ice with the back of his head before stars started to erupt in front of his eyes, leaving his vision black for some moments.

The next thing he knew was Yuuko’s voice telling him to open his eyes and look at her. When he did as he was told, his vision was still blurred, and he wasn’t really able to make out her features just yet.

“Yuuri, how many heads do you see?” came Yuuko’s worried voice.

He narrowed his eyes and tried to focus his vision on Yuuko crouching next to him because he was pretty sure that Yuuko didn’t have four heads. After some moments there were still two left.

“Two,” he said, thinking hard why there’d be two heads. But at the very moment he said the word, he realized that the second one didn’t belong to Yuuko.

“Two?” Yuuko asked, her brow furrowing. “Oh Yuuri, are you alright?”

“I think he’s fine.”

Yuuko let out a startled “Eek!” before her head whipped around to stare at the silver haired man next to her. “W-What are you doing here?”

The silver haired skater tilted his head at her, saying, “The same as you: Looking if he’s alright.”

“A-Ah, yeah, sure. I’m sorry. I was just surprised, that’s all,” Yuuko said, her surprise still audible in her voice.

“It’s alright,” the man said, giving her a charming smile, which made her blush. Then he turned back, staring intensely at Yuuri. “But what about you? Are you alright?”

For a short moment Yuuri just kept staring back at him, thinking how the man’s eyes really looked like the ocean sparkling in summer’s sun. Then he realized that the man expected an answer from him, so he hurried to say, “Y-Yeah, I’m fine.” 

He actually felt like he could sit up now, and as he tried to do so both Yuuko and the man helped him into a sitting position. But he could still feel pain throbbing quite prominently at the back of his head. He brought a hand up to gingerly reach for the aching spot.

“Wait, let me have a look,” the man suddenly said. Then he leaned closer in to Yuuri, one of his hands reaching for Yuuri’s chin, gently tilting his head to the side, while his other hand tenderly touched the back of his head. Suddenly, Yuuri’s head was no longer the only throbbing place in his body. But, Yuuri thought, his heart starting to beat like crazy was probably just the aftershock of his fall.

“Hmm, I can’t really make out a wound, so I think you’re alright.” The man’s touch lingered a moment longer, before he let go of Yuuri. Strangely, it felt like a loss to him.

“Thank God, I’m so relieved!” Yuuko sighed, clapping her hands together. “But Yuuri, what were you thinking? You could’ve really hurt yourself!”

“I’m sorry for making you worry, Yu-chan,” Yuuri mumbled, giving her an apologetic, little smile. “I really don’t know what has gotten into me…”

“Now, now, don’t scold the poor guy after such a fall! But I have to tell you: She’s right. The first thing to care about is your own safety,” the silver haired man said, making Yuuko nod along with it.

“Y-Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry,” Yuuri said, casting his eyes to the ground.

“No need to be sorry. Just watch out the next time,” the man smiled, before extending his hand. “Now give me your hand because I can’t imagine that sitting on the ice is particularly comfortable.”

Yuuri took the man’s hand and was promptly pulled to his feet. But he nearly lost his balance, almost toppling over, but he was immediately supported by the man’s arm reaching around his waist. For a short moment they stood awfully close, with their chests nearly touching before Yuuri brought some space between them. He blushed a deep shade of red nevertheless.

“T-Thanks for your help,” he stammered, trying to will down his blush. As he tried to hide his embarrassment, he continued, “B-By the way, my name’s Katsuki Yuuri.”

A broad smile started to bloom on the man’s handsome features before he said, “Nice to meet you, Yuuri. I’m Viktor Nikiforov.”

Yuuri dwelled on the name, repeating it in his head. Viktor Nikiforov. So the silver haired skater was no longer a mystery man.

“You work around here, don’t you? I’ve seen you before at the skate rental.”

“Y-Yeah, that’s right. But I’m just helping Yu-chan out as long as her husband’s not able to do so.”

“Hmm.” Viktor stared intensely at Yuuri, starting to tap at his lower lip. “What a pity. I would’ve loved seeing you around here regularly.”

“Eh?” Yuuri stared at Viktor with wide eyes, not quite sure if he’d heard right.

“But you’ll keep on learning how to skate properly, won’t you?”

Yuuri didn’t really know where that question came from, so he started stammering, “W-Well, I think I might, I mean, I don’t know. I-I could, but – ”

“Because if you did, I could help you with that.”

“EH?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here's the second chapter in which Yuuri and Viktor finally get (a little) closer!
> 
> But before that, I wanna thank all of you for leaving kudos and comments on the first one! They are highly appreciated and motivate me beyond belief! So, thank you all sosososo much ^^

"Yuuri, I'm so jealous of you," Yuuko sighed. She propped her elbow on the low table next to her, giving Yuuri a starry-eyed look.

"Why would you say that, Yu-chan?" Yuuri laughed, raising one eyebrow at his childhood friend.

After they'd closed the ice rink earlier that evening, Yuuko had insisted on accompanying him back home since she still feared that he might have hurt himself when he fell earlier. Even though he told her that he'd be fine, she would have none of it.

So here they were, sitting together in the guest's dining room of his family's onsen after having soaked in the hot springs. Later, his mother had brought them a bottle of sake, telling them that "it’d keep them warm". Yuuko had appreciated that gesture very much and had promptly filled her glass to the brim. By now, her tongue was a tad looser than usual.

Yuuko sighed once again, this time dreamily, pressing her hand to her chest just above her heart.

"Oh, I've always thought that he was the silent type, playing the cool, quiet guy. But, oh my, now I know that he must be a ladykiller! Have you seen those smiles? Ah, if I wasn't married..." Yuuko joked, taking another sip of sake. Well, at least Yuuri _thought_ she was joking.

"Y-Yeah, he's rather handsome," Yuuri nervously agreed. What else should he say to that? He was fairly sure that he shouldn't admit just _how_ handsome he thought Viktor really was. Well, nobody needed to know that anyway. 

"Rather handsome you say? Are you blind? Ah, but I guess your vision must've been blurred from your fall," Yuuko said. By now, Yuuri was pretty sure that she was rather tipsy and just a little exaggerating. ...But he had to admit that he understood where she came from. Viktor was really an exceptionally beautiful man. Which was totally okay to think of another man. Totally. 

"And I can't believe just what a lucky bastard you are!" Yuuko grinned, giving him an elbow to the ribs. "All you had to do was landing a good fall and Vincent would come to your rescue!" 

"His name's Viktor..." 

"And Viktor would come to your rescue! He was like a prince saving a princess! And let me tell you, Yuuri, you make a great princess!" Yuuko grinned like a maniac, her eyes glittering dreamily. 

Yuuri gave a nervous laugh, scratching at his chin. "I-If you say so, Yu-chan..." 

But then again, if he thought about it, Viktor kind of really resembled a prince. An ice prince perhaps. 

"And to top it all off, he said that he'd help you learn skating! Oh Yuuri, you'll learn from the young god himself! And then you'll become a young god yourself! Ah, it's like a fairytale!" Yuuko clasped her hands together, caught in her reverie. 

Yuuri didn't really know what to say to that except that Yuuko's words made him nervous. Like, why-is-it-suddenly-so-hot-in-here and I-really-need-something-to-fiddle-with-right-now nervous. Because, like Yuuko said, in Yuuri's eyes Viktor truly was a young skating god (even though he didn't really know other good skaters to compare him to, but whatever). And Yuuri was just...Yuuri. Who was a poor skater. And nothing like Viktor with his unbelievable talent. So why would Viktor bother to help a beginner like him? Yuuri was pretty sure that he'd just be a burden who'd keep Viktor from roaming the ice freely. 

Ah, but maybe it'd been just a joke? A joke both Yuuko and him had misinterpreted? If things were like this and Yuuri brought the topic up again, things would surely get pretty awkward. So he guessed that it'd be best to just keep quiet about it and see whether Viktor had meant it or not. Well, but even if it'd been just a joke, Yuuri could still watch Viktor like he'd used to do before.

\------

The next day Yuuri was _still_ nervous. And the closer the time came when Viktor usually arrived at the ice rink, the more nervous did he get. Okay, there was a slight chance that today would be one of those rare days when Viktor wouldn’t come and skate, but Yuuri wouldn’t bet on it.

Well, he actually knew that there was no need to get nervous at all, but images of him totally humiliating himself in front of Viktor just wouldn't leave him alone. What if Viktor realized just what an incompetent skater Yuuri really was? Or even worse: What if he laughed in Yuuri's face, telling him that even he himself couldn't help a hopeless case like Yuuri? The mere thought of it made him feel nauseous.

Yuuri let a huge sigh escape his lips before he brought his hands up to slap his cheeks. What was he even thinking about? Only yesterday Viktor had already seen him fall quite gloriously but had _still_ offered to help him learn skating properly. So he actually had to know what he was in for and had to be okay with it, right?

Why was he even wracking his brain like this anyway? After all, Viktor was, strictly speaking, just a stranger to Yuuri. Even though he'd already watched him for hours and seen him on a nearly daily basis, he was just a stranger. Heck, Yuuri had not even known his name until yesterday. So, why was he so obsessed with not humiliating himself in front of Viktor? Why did it matter quite that much? God, he didn't understand himself sometimes...

Yuuri brought his hands up to rub over his eyes wearily. Ah, he guessed that he made things just more complicated than they really were. He should stop worrying and just turn back to watching the people skate.

"Are you alright?" 

"Yeah, yeah," he sighed, rubbing over his eyes one last time before letting his hands fall back to his sides. But only to find the man he'd been thinking about the whole time right in front of him. He felt like his heart was about to leap out of his chest at the sight of Viktor leaning on the counter, looking intensely at Yuuri with his brow slightly furrowed.

“V-Viktor!” he exclaimed, a tad too loud for his own liking. “W-What are you – No, how long have you – Uh, wait. Forget it.”

Yuuri felt himself blush furiously, feeling like Viktor had caught him worry hysterically about their next encounter. Well, he kind of _had_ , but Yuuri tried to calm himself with the thought that Viktor hardly possessed the ability of mindreading. Nevertheless, Yuuri felt like digging himself a hole right now and burying himself in it until Viktor was gone.

But Viktor just chuckled lowly at Yuuri’s unintelligible stammering and gave him a small smile. “I didn’t mean to startle you. But you seemed pretty uneasy right now, so that’s why I’ve asked.”

"Ah, well, I-I was just thinking. Nothing to worry about," he said lamely, accompanied by a nervous laugh. Oh, Yuuri thought, he was so smooth, so smooth.

"Mhm." Viktor's eyes studied his face a moment longer before he changed the topic. "What about your head? Everything's alright? I was really worried yesterday 'cause that looked like a pretty vicious fall." 

"Oh yeah, I'm totally fine," Yuuri said, kind of relieved that they had changed the topic. He smiled at Viktor, his hand unintentionally reaching for the still slightly aching spot at the back of his head. "Not even a scratch left. And after soaking in the onsen, I felt as good as new." 

"Eh? You've been to the onsen yesterday? Wasn't it already too late to do so?" Viktor asked, tilting his head slightly. 

"Well yeah, kind of. But since my family owns it, it's no problem," Yuuri said, shrugging slightly. Owning an onsen surely had its pecks sometimes. 

"Eh? No way!!" Viktor exclaimed, leaning closer in to Yuuri quite abruptly. His eyes started to glitter as he asked, "So you can go to the onsen whenever you like? Like, if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can just hop into the water??" 

"Y-Yeah, basically," Yuuri said, caught off guard by Viktor's sudden enthusiasm. 

"No way, that's sooo cool!" Viktor said, his eyes shining. "We totally gotta do that sometime!" 

There was a beat of silence with Yuuri just blinking at Viktor before asking, "Do what?" 

"Go to the onsen at night, of course! When the snow's glittering in the moonlight and the moon will be reflected on the water! Just think about how awesome that'd be!"

Yuuri was pretty taken aback. When he'd watched Viktor the past couple of days, he'd always imagined him to be the cool, restrained guy. But now it seemed like Viktor could be very enthusiastic about something, with his eyes getting all glittery like a little boy's would on Christmas Eve. But this didn't put a damper on Yuuri's opinion of Viktor, rather the opposite. He thought of it as pretty cute. ...Wait, what? 

"So, do you think we could do that sometime?" Viktor repeated his earlier question, raising his perfect brows at Yuuri. 

"Y-Yeah, sure, we could do that." Yuuri gave Viktor a grin, his elation starting to rub off on him. 

"Awesome," Viktor said, grinning as well. "You see, nighttime's my favorite. Especially walks with Makkachin late at night." 

"Makkachin?" 

"Makkachin's my dog," Viktor said, still smiling happily. "I bet he'd like you." 

"Eh? Why would you think so?" 

"Oh, that's..." Viktor's smile turned from happy to something more private, the corners of his lips quirking up ever so slightly. Yuuri couldn’t really pinpoint it, but whatever it was with that smile, it did strange things to his heart. 

"That's because Makkachin always likes the people I like." 

"Oh, does he?" Yuuri was still too caught by Viktor's smile to fully comprehend just what Viktor had said right now. But as he finally did, his mind went: _Wait_. 

But Viktor was already going on. "Now, Yuuri, put your skates on. I'm telling you, by the end of the day, you'll already have mastered the basics!"

\------

“C’mon Yuuri, one more round!” Viktor grinned, way too cheerful for Yuuri’s liking. He was skating in front of Yuuri, backwards, like Yuuko had done yesterday. But despite his cheerfulness, Viktor was watching his movements with a tireless concentration that kind of impressed Yuuri.

“You’ve said that, like, eight rounds ago,” Yuuri whined, giving Viktor an exasperated look. He felt like if he had to take off his skates right now, his feet would probably fall off as well. And his legs. But he’d be damned if he said that he’d had it. He’d hold out until the bitter end. He was determined to show Viktor that he had it in him.

Viktor laughed, “Okay, okay. This is the last one.”

Yuuri raised a skeptical eyebrow at Viktor which elicited another laugh from him. Then he placed his left hand on his heart and brought his right one up, promising with a grin, “ _Really_.”

Yuuri felt a wave of relief wash through his body because he wasn’t sure just how much longer his pride would’ve withstood his exhaustion. But in that short moment of not fully concentrating on his skating, his tired legs gave a little in, making him lose his balance. But before he could topple over, Viktor had already caught him, his strong arms wrapping around Yuuri’s body, supporting him with his chest.

“Oops,” Viktor said amusedly, holding Yuuri tightly. “You’ve got to fully concentrate on your movements, especially when you’re tired and your legs feel like giving in. Because if your concentration slips, something like this will happen.”

“I-I see,” Yuuri said. He felt heat creeping up his neck, already starting to reach for the tips of his ears, but he was, like, one hundred percent sure that it came from his embarrassment of nearly falling and _not_ from Viktor holding him tight, smiling at him the way he did. Or the fact that Viktor was holding him longer than strictly necessary before letting go of him.

“I guess we should call it a day,” Viktor said, glancing at the clock at the far end of the wall. “Before your friend will kick us out.”

“Yu-chan? I guess she’d rather tell us to lock the door when we leave than kick us out,” Yuuri laughed, stealing a glance at the clock as well. His brows involuntarily shot up as he saw that there were only five minutes left until closing time. Time had been truly flying…

“Oh, you think so?” Viktor asked, tapping pensively at his lower lip. “If that's the case, we could go for some more rounds, right?”

“Ah, nononono! That’s not what I – ” But as he saw Viktor trying to suppress his laughter, Yuuri just rolled his eyes at him and said, “Oh, how funny!”

At that Viktor couldn’t contain his laughter any longer. Yuuri just rolled his eyes again, this time amusedly, and had to smile himself. Seeing Viktor like this, with his eyes crinkling and the sound of his genuine laughter ringing through the ice rink, all Yuuri could think about was how beautiful Viktor was. He couldn’t help but feel like he wanted to see him overwhelmed with laughter as often as possible.

"I'm sorry," Viktor eventually said, sounding not sorry at all. "I'm sorry, but I just couldn't resist. I know that you're tired, so we really should call it a day. Ah, but I gotta tell you that I'm impressed. You've put up with everything I came up with, and you didn't say a single word of complaint. You're determined and eager to learn. I like that." 

Viktor winked at Yuuri, his lips curling up into a playful smile. It made Yuuri's face turn beet-red. 

"T-Thank you. ...I guess." 

"Though I wouldn't mind staying longer. It's nice to have the ice rink all to ourselves like today." 

Yuuri blinked at Viktor. Did he just say that he was willing to skate with Yuuri even after closing time? Or was he just imagining things? Yuuri wasn't quite sure, but he still felt an unbelievable happiness starting to seep through his body, making his heart beat faster. 

"I-I think so too," Yuuri said, trying to hide his inner excitement. "I wouldn't mind staying longer either, if Yu-chan allows us to do so." 

"I guess we'll just have to ask her," Viktor said. "But I guess we won't be able to do overtime tomorrow since I'm pretty sure that you'll have sore muscles." 

"Uh, yeah, I wish you wouldn't be right about that one." Yuuri shifted from one aching foot to the other, his muscles protesting decidedly against the movement. Ah, he guessed that it'd become another evening of soaking and relaxing in the onsen. 

"Well, all beginnings are difficult," Viktor smiled, "but that's how it is. And let me tell you, I know what I'm talking about." 

Like this, they got off the ice and got ready to leave. Yuuri took off his skates with a relieved sigh and put them back into the shelf of the skate rental. Then he went looking for Yuuko to tell her that they'd leave now. After he'd found her in the ice rink's office still getting some paper work done, he met up with Viktor at the exit. 

As they stepped into the cool night air, Yuuri felt a shudder run through his whole body, and he zipped up his jacket even further. Dammit, he should've brought along a scarf or something. 

"Are you here by car, or are you walking?" 

"Huh?" Yuuri turned to look at Viktor as he was caught off guard by the question. "Actually I'm always walking since my home's not that far." 

"Okay, then you're driving with me," Viktor said, starting to walk off to the ice rink's parking lot. Yuuri was left staring surprisedly at his back. 

"Eh? Viktor wait!" He then hurried to catch up with Viktor, grabbing his sleeve. "Y-You don't have to bother with me. I'm fine with walking home." 

"Are you?" Viktor turned around to look at him, raising an eyebrow at Yuuri. "Like this, sweaty and without a scarf or anything, you're going to catch a cold. So, c'mon and let me give you a ride." 

Yuuri wanted to protest, but Viktor just cut him off by saying, "l _insist_." 

And without further ado, Viktor simply took Yuuri's hand from his sleeve, intertwined their fingers and started to lead the way to his car. Yuuri had been about to object, but as Viktor's warm hand had reached for his cold one, all protests had died on his tongue. As he was now being dragged along, he couldn't help but stare at their joined fingers, feeling the pace of his heartbeat pick up. Yuuri didn't know why, but the feeling of Viktor holding his hand like this was pretty nice, and he felt like he could really get used to it. But when they reached Viktor's car, Viktor let go of his hand, and Yuuri tried to hide just how much he already missed the contact. 

"So, you're home's by the hot springs, right?" Viktor asked as he started the engine. 

"Y-Yeah. You know where it is?" Yuuri said, trying to shake off this strange feeling that started to roll in his stomach. His heart, though, just wouldn't want to stop beating so impossibly loudly that Yuuri was sure that even Viktor could hear it. 

"Sure. But even though I've been to the onsen before, I gotta admit that I've never seen you there," Viktor said as he pulled out of the parking lot. 

"Well, it's not like I'm the type who strikes the eye," Yuuri shrugged. 

"Oh, I wouldn't say that." 

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yuuri turned to look at Viktor with a quizzical look in his eyes. 

"Well," Viktor said mysteriously. A slow grin started to tug at the corners of his mouth as he shot Yuuri a quick glance. "Maybe I'll tell you sometime." 

Yuuri didn't really understand what Viktor wanted to imply, but he decided to let it go for the moment. Viktor would surely tell him sometime. Or at least he hoped so.

As they arrived at the hot springs barely some five minutes later, Yuuri turned to Viktor then, saying, "Thanks for the ride. I really appreciate it even though you really shouldn't have bothered." 

"Oh Yuuri," Viktor said, a small smile playing around the corners of his lips. "Why won't you just believe me that it was my pleasure?" 

"W-Well, it's not that I don’t believe you. It’s just… Uh, yeah. Forget about it. Anyway, thank you Viktor," Yuuri said once more, feeling his cheeks slightly heat up. He got out of the car, but before he closed the door, he couldn't help but ask, "See you tomorrow?" 

"Sure," Viktor grinned, "after all I wanna see just how sore you are after so many rounds today." 

Yuuri blinked wordlessly at Viktor, feeling his cheeks grow even hotter. Pictures of Viktor and him doing...things suddenly appeared in front of his inner eye, making Yuuri swallow thickly.

He was sure that by now his face wasn’t hot but _on fire_. 

"You what?" Yuuri croaked, finding that his voice was a tad higher than he would've liked it to be. 

"I said that I wanted to see how sore your muscles would be after so many rounds of skating today," Viktor said, tilting his head slightly. A small, innocent smile graced his beautiful features. 

"O-Oh, I see," Yuuri said, scratching at the back of his head. "Uhm, see you tomorrow then." 

"Yeah, see you tomorrow!" 

Yuuri closed the door of Viktor's car and watched him wave him goodbye before he drove away. Then Yuuri brought his hands up to cover his burning face. 

What was he even thinking about? Like, seriously? Of course Viktor had meant it like that and _not_ like Yuuri's stupid brain had interpreted it.

Oh God, he felt like he wanted to die of eternal embarrassment right _now_.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuuri's still in denial, Yuuko and Minako-sensei are the #No.1 members of the Yuuri Protection Squad, Viktor and Minako-sensei have one too many. Sexy time ensues.

"I'm dead, Yu-chan, I'm physically dead," Yuuri said as he let his head hit the cool surface of the counter in front of him. Another day at the ice rink, another day at the skate rental's counter, another day of meeting and skating with Viktor. Well, he wasn't too sure about the latter. Unfortunately Viktor had been absolutely right about the sore muscles, and Yuuri wondered if his legs had ever hurt like this in his twenty-three years of existence before. Well, there had been some times when he'd still visited Minako-sensei's ballet classes, but Yuuri was pretty sure that it had never been as bad as today. Viktor surely didn't go easy on him... 

Yuuko laughed at Yuuri's whining and ruffled encouragingly through his hair. "Oh Yuuri, I wish I could feel sympathy for you, but I gotta tell you that it's your own fault. When I came to look for you two yesterday, you were so eager to learn everything that Viktor came up with that even I _knew_ that your legs would hurt like a bitch the next day. I even got a little huffy 'cause I couldn't help but think about how whenever _I_ would come up with the topic of skating, you'd always go in defense mode, telling me that you couldn't skate anyway." 

Yuuri lifted his head off the counter and saw Yuuko slightly shaking her head, clearly thinking about her fruitless attempts at convincing Yuuri of giving ice skating another chance. 

He looked at her a moment longer, letting her words sink in. Yuuri wondered just when she'd come to look for them since he was pretty sure that he hadn't seen her the entire time except when he told her that they'd leave now. To get an answer to that Yuuri told Yuuko about his confusion. 

"See, that's another thing," Yuuko said, raising a pointed finger at Yuuri. "You guys were so focused on each other that you didn't even notice me. I've never seen you like this before, Yuuri. Since when are you so eager on learning how to skate? Not that I'm complaining, rather the opposite, but I'm just so amazed by that change of yours." 

Yuuri blinked at Yuuko, who was studying his face with great interest. He didn't know why, but he somehow started to feel nervous under her scrutiny.

"Eh, Yu-chan, what are you talking about? I haven't changed at all. It's just that Viktor - " 

"Aha!" Yuuko interrupted him, stabbing a finger at his chest. "I knew that it had something to do with the young skating god! Ever since you first saw him, you are like this! So spit it out: What's going on between the two of you?" 

Yuuri got even more flustered, holding up his hands in defense. "T-There's nothing going on between the two of us. It's just that I..." 

Yuuri let the sentence trail off as he didn't know what he wanted to say. That he was truly fascinated by Viktor? That he wanted to see him as often as possible? Or that Viktor did strange things to his heart and brain which Yuuri couldn't comprehend? As he thought about it, he realized that he probably shouldn't say those thoughts out loud. It was embarrassing enough to think them. 

"That you," Yuuko prompted, raising her brows. 

"Uhm, that I think that Viktor's like a stain: If you spot it, you can't look away."

Yuuri grimaced due to his own words. Oh, what a nice safe. Really. 

Yuuko just stared wordlessly at him a moment longer before huffing out an amused laugh. "What kind of shitty comparison is that? But I kinda understand what you're trying to say. ...I guess. But whatever. Is he coming today too?" 

"Y-Yeah, we're going to skate again," Yuuri said, glad that they had changed the topic. "Or at least I'll try. But coming to think of it... I guess I'll stay right here behind the counter." 

"Whatever you feel like. But remember: Whatever you do, you've always got to take care of yourself. Remember that you don't need to impress anyone. Viktor's no exclusion. So don't push yourself. And make sure to get some rest between those skating sessions of yours," Yuuko smiled warmly, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. 

"God, Yu-chan I'm twenty-three not seven," Yuuri laughed, raising an amused eyebrow at his childhood friend. "I can take good care of myself." 

"Oh, I'm not too sure about that," Yuuko said vaguely as she was about to leave the skate rental room. 

"Oi, what's that supposed to mean?" 

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I kinda feel like you're becoming reckless when it comes to that Viktor guy. But, anyway. See ya!" Like this Yuuko shut the door behind her with a broad grin, leaving Yuuri wondering just what she was trying to say.

\------

When Yuuri was with Viktor, time flew. When they were on the ice, when Viktor came over to the skate rental's counter just to chat with Yuuri... It didn't matter what they did, but Yuuri always felt like time was passing impossibly fast whenever the Russian was involved. Ah, that was something Yuuri had found out about Viktor in those past couple of days of skating nearly every day together: Viktor was apparently Russian.

 _"You're not from here, are you?"_ Yuuri had asked one evening. He'd been wracking his brains this entire time just where Viktor might come from. 

_"Huh?"_ Viktor had been slightly caught off guard by Yuuri's sudden question, but had answered nevertheless. _"You mean from Hasetsu? Well, actually I - "_

 _"No, I don't mean from Hasetsu,"_ Yuuri had interjected. _"I mean from Japan in general."_

 _"Oh, I see. Yeah, you're actually right. I've been born in Russia and lived there until a couple of years ago before moving to Japan,"_ Viktor had answered, tilting his head slightly. _"What gave me away?"_

_"Err.."_ Yuuri had started to scratch the back of his head, thinking about what made Viktor stand out. _"Well, you don't exactly look Japanese. ...B-But it's not like that's a problem or anything! You're actually pretty handsome!"_

God, Yuuri was still blushing when he just thought about how embarrassing it'd been to realize that he'd actually said that out loud. Viktor on the other hand had grinned at him the way he sometimes did, the way that made Yuuri's heart flutter. For whatever reasons. 

_"Uhm, and you're speaking Japanese super fluently, but there's that slight accent of yours,"_ he had tried to save his dignity. _"I've been wondering where that might come from."_

 _"Oh, yeah,"_ Viktor had laughed, running a hand through his hair. _"Even though I've been speaking Japanese for years now, it seems that I just can't get rid of it."_

Yeah, and that's how Yuuri had found out about Viktor being Russian. After that, he'd asked Viktor if he could say something in Russian because Yuuri had been so curious how that foreign language would sound if spoken by Viktor's beautiful lips. 

After huffing out an amused laugh, Viktor had come up with some sentences, and Yuuri had been stunned just how smoothly those foreign words had rolled off his tongue. It had fascinated Yuuri to no end. Viktor had promised him to teach him some Russian some time, and by now Yuuri could say things like ' _Menja zovut Yuuri_ \- My name's Yuuri', ' _Privet_ \- Hi', ' _Do svidaniya_ \- Good-bye' and other basic words and short sentences.

But there was this one sentence that Viktor asked Yuuri to say: Я тебя люблю. But Yuuri had no idea what it meant as Viktor refused to tell him. By now, Yuuri had asked him several times, but Viktor would always turn him down with a meaningful wink which turned out meaningless anyway since a simple wink could hardly translate an entire Russian sentence.

Not that it was ever simple or meaningless when Viktor winked at Yuuri. But there was something about the way he did it that left Yuuri always flustered and wondering just _how_ Viktor could look so freakishly handsome doing it. Uhm, yeah, that ‘freakishly handsome’ thing was yet another thing that Yuuri had to sort out.

Sure, when he’d seen Viktor skate for the first time, he’d already thought of him as beautiful and charismatic. But at some point that ‘beautiful and charismatic’ had changed into something around the lines of ‘ridiculously handsome and sexy’. Ah, nonononono, wait, he didn’t mean sexy, of course not, he meant… Okay, yeah, sexy. But it was totally legitimate to think of Viktor as sexy! You just had to look at the way his features lit up with that impossibly wide range of smiles and grins; at the way he moved so smoothly, almost seductively on the ice; at the way his ass flexed whenever he showed Yuuri warm-ups which he could do before skating. Uh, wait, that last one was definitely not what he wanted to say. His brain was just thinking ridiculous thoughts today. Like, seriously.

But not only Yuuri's way of watching Viktor had changed. For example, he'd picked up his ballet classes again.

Viktor had asked him if he'd ever taken ballet classes. Yuuri had been really surprised, asking Viktor how he could've known. But Viktor had simply answered that he could see it in the way Yuuri moved. He'd also said that the way you learned to control and move your body in ballet came in quite handy in skating as well. 

So, Yuuri had come to the conclusion that it wouldn't hurt if he picked up his classes with Minako-sensei again. At first Minako-sensei had been surprised to find him visiting her in the ballet studio, but after he'd told her why he'd come, she'd been more than happy to welcome him back as her student. 

He didn't take as many classes as he had back then though, but he was doing just fine, remembering the things Minako-sensei had taught him easily enough. This evening was no other. 

"Yuuri, I've always wondered why you quit ballet," Minako-sensei said, as she watched Yuuri mirror her motions. "You always were one of my best students, and I could see great skating potential in you as well. Ah, it was so much talent gone to waste!" 

"Nah, Minako-sensei, you're just making things up." Yuuri dismissed her with a laugh as he walked over to the studio's benches to grab his water bottle. He took a sip of water and ruffled through his slightly sweaty hair with a towel, throwing Minako-sensei a skeptical look. "After all, if you've got talent, you should be _good_ at something, right? Okay, in regards to skating I never really had _that_ much practice, but now that's going to change! Because Viktor - " 

"Viktor here, Viktor there, everything you talk about revolves around that man!” Minako-sensei interjected, placing her hands on her hips. “Who is that Viktor guy anyway? You talk about him endlessly every single time I see you, yet I have absolutely no idea who he is! Just who is that guy that he could get you to take ballet classes again _and_ skate?" 

Yuuri got a little flustered at Minako-sensei's sudden inquiry. He started to fumble for words as he tried to recall all the things he knew about Viktor by now.

"Uhm, so, his name's Viktor Nikiforov, he's twenty-seven years old, he's a native Russian and has lived in Japan for a couple of years now." 

Minako-sensei stared at him for a few seconds before she asked, "That's it?" 

"W-Well, it's not that I interrogated him or anything..." Yuuri said, shrugging slightly. But now that he thought about it... Whereas Viktor knew quite a lot about him by now, Yuuri didn't know nearly as much about Viktor. Huh. 

"So what are you doing the whole day if you're not talking to each other? Are you gazing deeply into each other's eyes, or what?" Minako-sensei asked, sounding amused while she kept on staring at Yuuri quizzically. 

To be honest, Yuuri really liked that idea. After all, he felt like he could get lost in Viktor's beautiful blue eyes every time he looked at him. But Minako-sensei didn't need to know that. Definitely not. So he laughed it off, but unfortunately it turned out more nervous than he'd liked it to be. Oh well. 

"Minako-sensei, you're being ridiculous. It's just that we're chatting about other things most of the time," Yuuri said, defensive now, crossing his arms over his chest. It wasn't like he needed to explain himself for being with Viktor. 

"It's alright, it's alright." Minako-sensei brought her hands up in surrender before she came over to place them on Yuuri's shoulders. "I'm just so curious because I've never seen you like this before." 

"Huh?" Yuuri's brows drew together as he started to wonder what would make Minako-sensei say something like that. And if he wasn't mistaken, he believed that Yuuko had once said something along those lines as well. 

"Well, you're so fired up and motivated, and you always seem to be... What would be the best word to describe it? Hmm, happy, I guess? Yeah, you always seem to be kind of happy, and I can't tell why," Minako-sensei said as she contemplated Yuuri. Her eyes grew fond, and a small smile formed on her lips as she asked, "Did anything happen? Something good? Or have you met someone?" 

Yuuri was surprised hearing those words from Minako-sensei. Was he happy? Yeah, sure, he was happy, but was he any happier than usual? He couldn't tell. 

"Yeah, well, I've met Viktor. Does that count?"

He wasn't sure, though, if the question was directed towards Minako-sensei or himself. 

Yuuri watched Minako-sensei purse her lips in contemplation before saying, "Of course. And that's why I've decided right now that I'm going to meet him." 

"You're what?" Yuuri's brows shot up as he blinked his eyes rapidly at her.

Minako-sensei and Viktor? Well, it _could_ end well, but Minako-sensei could be very...critical. 

"Of course! Why not? After all, I've known you long enough to notice if something's going on with you. And if I do, I wanna know what it is. So, if there's a man who lit up a passion in you like I've never seen it before, it's only natural that I wanna know who that man is." Minako-sensei gave Yuuri a smile which made him wonder whether it was supposed to be intimidating or encouraging. Hard to tell. 

He still wondered what he should think about that idea. Wouldn't it be weird to ask Viktor to meet his ballet teacher? Well, he could try and paraphrase it, so it wouldn't sound weird in the end, but still. 

As if Minako-sensei had read his mind, she said, "Nah, c'mon! Just ask him to come to the onsen with you, and then I'll show up as if it was coincidentally and be like _'Oh, what a coincidence! Yuuri, who's that friend of yours?'_. And so I'll get to know him without any awkward incidents! It'll be super casual, and I'll leave as soon as I got my impression of that guy. So, deal?" 

Yuuri hesitated a moment before saying, "I-I guess that sounds okay." 

Yuuri watched a satisfied smile appear on Minako-sensei's features as she said, "You’ll see, it’ll be over before you even notice." 

Yuuri raised a skeptical brow at her but still couldn't help the small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. After all, there couldn't go anything wrong, right?

\------

Yuuri had been so wrong. So utterly, utterly wrong.

Minako-sensei’s plan had been going pretty smoothly: After an evening of ice skating and Viktor driving Yuuri home like he’d done several times before, Yuuri had asked Viktor to come in and maybe have something to drink. Viktor had agreed happily enough, and so they’d been chatting away in the guest’s dining room of the onsen, when Minako-sensei had arrived. She’d acted all surprised, like she’d said she would, before she joined them.

Now, Yuuri’s biggest fear had been that they wouldn’t get along and things would turn out pretty awkward. But it was pretty damn much the opposite: Minako-sensei and Viktor hit it off _too_ well. Way too well for Yuuri’s liking.

What had started out as an interrogation, with Minako-sensei asking Viktor all different kinds of questions, had turned rather quickly into a heavy drinking session. Both, Minako-sensei and Viktor, seemed to be very fond of alcohol on that evening, and that’s how several emptied bottles of sake and beer (and even a bottle of shōchū if Yuuri wasn’t mistaken) had started to pile on the table in front of them. Yuuri had had his share of drinks too, but (in contrast to Viktor and Minako-sensei) he himself was still totally sober.

Much to his regret. Because at some point Minako-sensei had started to tell embarrassing stories from Yuuri’s past. And Yuuri thought that the whole situation wouldn’t be half as mortifying as it was, if he would’ve been drunk as well.

"So, ya see," Minako-sensei said, her speech slurred, "Yuuri told me once that, when he'd been with Yuuko to the ice rink that one time, he'd been so nervous about it that he went on the ice with his skate guards still on!" 

Viktor gave a warm laugh at that, his eyes, glistening from the alcohol, turning on Yuuri.

"Oh my God, _Yuuri_ ," he said, Yuuri's name rolling off his tongue as sweetly as honey. "You are the cutest, most adorable person I've ever met in my entire life!" Then Viktor brought his hand up to cast his fingers through Yuuri's hair, before he slid them down his cheek and let them linger there for a couple of moments. 

"Yeah, ya see, Yuuri had this huuuuuge crush on Yuuko, so he always seemed kinda nervous and clumsy around her," Minako-sensei giggled, taking a huge gulp of beer. 

"M-Minako-sensei, please," Yuuri whined, blushing a deep shade of red. At the same time he tried his level best to ignore the burning sensation on his cheek where Viktor had touched him only seconds ago. "There's really no need to tell Viktor all of this." 

"Oh, no, no, please keep going on. After all I wanna know eeeeeverything about you, _Yuuri_." Viktor's eyes locked with Yuuri's, and for a short moment the world around them didn't exist. The usually cold blue of Viktor's eyes seemed to be burning with something that Yuuri couldn't quite put a finger on. Whatever it was, it made Yuuri swallow thickly and his heart beat faster.

Then Viktor scooted closer to Yuuri so that their thighs were brushing together before he placed a playful hand on Yuuri's knee. "But tell me, _Yuuri_ , you don't have a crush on her now, do you? Or is there someone else you like?" 

Viktor's hand giving Yuuri's knee a playful squeeze made his brain short-circuit for a moment. Then his cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red as he started to stammer, "N-No, it's been years since I had that crush on her. A-And I don't have anyone I like right now." 

"Mhm." A satisfied little smile appeared on Viktor's beautiful features as he started to draw small circles on Yuuri's knee. "You know, I like that." 

"Oh, you guys," Minako-sensei laughed as she tried to get up. She swayed dangerously for a second before standing properly. Then she winked at them before saying, "'M goin' to leave ya alone now. Don't wanna be third wheelin'." 

"Ah, nonono, Minako-sensei wait! You can't go home like this! You're dead drunk!" Yuuri hurried to get to his feet, not noticing the petulant look on Viktor's face that he caused like this. "You'll definitely stay over. I'll ask my mother to prepare the guestroom for you." 

"Oooh, I wanna stay over too!" Viktor got to his feet as well, swaying slightly before hugging Yuuri from behind. He then buried his face in Yuuri's neck, mumbling against his skin, "Will you let me stay over too?" 

"S-Sure!" Yuuri croaked as he felt Viktor's lips moving against his skin, the soft touch making him forget what he wanted to say. So he freed himself from Viktor's embrace to get his brain back to work properly. "S-So, I'm going to look for my mother to tell her to prepare the guestroom and a spare futon. You two will stay right where you are. I'm going to be right back." 

Like this, Yuuri went off to find his mother. In the process, he tried to calm himself, but the ever present blush on his face seemed like it just wouldn’t go away. But it didn't really work as he could still feel Viktor's lips burning on his skin. Oh dammit, if he'd known that Viktor would get even more touchy-feely than usual when he was drunk, then Yuuri would've definitely kept him away from the alcohol. Like, seriously, his poor heart wasn't cut out for this. 

After he'd found his mother, he told her about Minako-sensei and Viktor staying over for the night since they've had one too many. So his mother went to take care of the guestroom whilst Yuuri got the spare futon for his room. But before he went back to fetch Minako-sensei and Viktor, Yuuri stood hesitatingly in front of the futon, starting to worry his lip as he stared down at it. Sleeping in the same room as Viktor... Wouldn't be a problem, right? He'd just tuck him into bed and then the alcohol would do the rest. 

When Yuuri came back, it took him some coaxing to get Minako-sensei and Viktor to agree that it'd be best if they all went to bed now. But after that, things went smoothly. Minako-sensei bid them a good night (far too loudly and cheerfully for the late hour), before shutting the door of the guestroom with a loud bang. Only some seconds later, it seemed as if she'd already fallen asleep. If the snoring resounding through the door was any indication. Yuuri hoped that she'd made it to the bed. 

Then they went on to Yuuri's room. After that, things stopped going smoothly. Okay, they still had when Yuuri had left for the bathroom for a short moment, but after he'd come back, things started to get out of hand. 

"V-Viktor, w-what are you doing?" Yuuri asked as he closed the door to his room behind him. His eyes went wide and his cheeks grew hot as he found Viktor lying nearly completely naked on his bed, wearing nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He swallowed thickly before saying, "Y-You need to put some clothes on. I-I mean you - " 

"But I always sleep like this." Viktor's voice sounded innocent and playful, and he gave Yuuri a bright little smile. 

"T-That's - " Yuuri's words died on his tongue as his brain wouldn't supply him with any good reasons for Viktor putting his clothes back on. Maybe to keep his own sanity, but he guessed that he wouldn’t convince Viktor with it. So instead of saying something intelligent and reasonable, he went to pick up Viktor's clothes that had been haphazardly lying on the floor. He then dumped them unceremoniously onto the bed in front of Viktor.

Viktor looked at him amusedly as Yuuri started to stammer, "I-I mean, you should put them back on, o-or else you'll catch a cold." 

"Right now, I couldn't care any less." 

The mattress dipped, and before Yuuri could realize what was going on, he already found himself lying flat on his back, with Viktor hovering above him, pinning him onto the mattress. 

"You know, _Yuuri_ ," Viktor breathed his name like it was something obscene, his eyes dropping to Yuuri's mouth, "I really wanna kiss you right now." 

"V-Viktor, wait, you're - " His words were muffled by Viktor catching Yuuri's lower lip between his teeth, shooting him a seductive look. Yuuri was at a total loss for words, his mouth hanging slightly open. Viktor immediately took the chance to seal it with a fiery kiss, licking his way into Yuuri's mouth. The sensation of Viktor's lips on his own, their tongues sliding hotly together, the taste of sake still lingering in Viktor's mouth... It was enough to make Yuuri's brain shut down. 

His hand found its way into Viktor's silver hair, burying itself in the smooth strands almost completely on its own. Viktor made a low humming noise at the back of his throat, seemingly encouraged to kiss Yuuri with even more vigor. Oh, it made Yuuri feel dizzy. 

When they broke apart for air, both their breaths were ragged and coming in quick gasps. Viktor's eyes were clouded and his lips red and shiny, a thin layer of saliva clinging to them. Then Viktor's tongue darted out to lick it off, and it was the hottest thing Yuuri had ever seen in his entire life. 

" _Yuuri_ ," Viktor almost moaned, the sound of it sending a shudder through his entire body. Then Viktor pressed his hips into Yuuri's, and, oh God, Viktor was _hard_. Looking completely debauched, almost entirely naked and hard just for _Yuuri_. The mere thought of it made his own pants start to feel uncomfortably tight. 

Viktor leaned closer in to Yuuri then, his mouth brushing against his ear as he whispered in a low, husky voice, "Yuuri, I want you so badly right now." 

As Yuuri started to realize what those words meant, the fog clouding his brain started to lift, and he blinked himself back into reality. His face was instantly on fire as he started to splutter, "Ah, no Viktor, no, wait, we can't - No, wait." 

He hurriedly scrambled to his feet, trying his level best to calm his racing heart. He then looked anywhere but at Viktor as he said, "Y-You're drunk, you don't know what you're doing, a-and you'll probably regret it afterwards. So, uhm, you can sleep in my bed. I'll take the futon." 

And without any further ado, Yuuri grabbed the futon with clumsy fingers, dragging it over to the door. As he already reached for the door handle, he heard Viktor say, "Yuuri, wait! I - " 

"G-Goodnight Viktor! Sleep well!" 

Like this, he wrestled the futon through the door, shutting it behind him with a bang that turned out much louder than intended. 

The futon fell to the floor with a sad little noise as Yuuri brought his hands up to cover his eyes. His cheeks felt as if they were on fire, his heart was about to jump out of his chest and he was still half hard. Oh, dammit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's funny that Viktor wanting to jump Yuuri, whilst completely naked and dead drunk, is actually canon.


	4. Chapter 4

When Yuuri blinked his eyes open, he was confused. He stared at the ceiling for a couple of moments before coming to the conclusion that it wasn't his rooms ceiling. He started to search for his glasses and eventually found them on the floor next to him. As he put them on, and his blurred vision started to focus, he realized that he indeed wasn't in his room. He sat up and wondered for a brief moment why exactly he'd slept on the spare futon in the living room and not in his comfy bed. That was until memories of yesterday's evening started to resurface from the back corner of his mind where Yuuri had banned them in order to keep his sanity. 

Well, now they were back and his cheeks on fire again. Fuck. 

Yuuri let himself fall back onto the futon with a loud groan and brought the blanket up to cover his face. Now that he thought about yesterday's events, they seemed even more unreal than they already had when they'd happened. Because, Yuuri and Viktor making out? Viktor almost completely naked, hard and panting in his bed? No way. But Yuuri waking up in the living room was pretty much the proof that it hadn't been just a dream or anything. 

Ah yeah, the alcohol. Alcohol was the conclusion to it all. Viktor had been dead drunk and not knowing what he was doing. Or else he wouldn't have acted like _that_. But truth be told, Yuuri felt even more embarrassed about his own actions. He really shouldn't have taken advantage of Viktor in that condition. He should've pushed him off of him right away. But Yuuri had lost his self-control, his inner urges taking over his mind. He was a young man after all, and his body reacted to...things, obviously. So it was the most natural thing in the world that it wouldn't leave Yuuri cold if he saw Viktor as debauched and horny as he'd been yesterday. 

Yuuri let a sigh escape his lips. He once again sat up, casting a hand through his messy hair. It wasn't like he could change anything about it now anyway. So the only thing he could do was to apologize to Viktor and tell him that they should just forget about it, that it wasn't something they should worry about. 

Because Yuuri could imagine Viktor being utterly mortified when he woke up in Yuuri's bed with his own memories coming back. He would want to tell Yuuri that it all had been a huge misunderstanding and everything. But Yuuri just wanted to tell him that it was alright, that he shouldn't worry about it. After all, he liked being with Viktor, and he just didn't want to lose him because of some drunken fooling around. He really didn't. 

Yuuri finally got up from the futon, determined to talk to Viktor right away. He wanted to keep him from freaking out because he thought that Yuuri would freak out, so he was determined to wrap things up as quickly as possible. 

But as he finally stood in front of the closed door to his room, that determination had somehow left. Wouldn't it be impolite or even intrusive to just enter the room without knowing whether Viktor was already awake or still asleep? But Yuuri didn't want to knock either since he feared that if Viktor was still asleep, he'd wake him up with it. Or maybe Viktor didn't want to see him right now, maybe he'd rather sort things out on his own before wanting to talk to Yuuri. 

Oh dammit, his momentum was so gone now that he felt like turning on his heels and waiting for Viktor at the breakfast table. Yuuri bit his lower lip as he tried to shoo the thought away. He'd do this. Right now. 

He brought a hesitant hand up to reach for the door handle, pressing it down in slow motion to create as little noise as possible. Then he opened the door ever so slightly, just a teeny tiny bit that'd allow him to peer into the room. Which was empty. Huh. 

Yuuri opened the door fully now, and indeed: His bed was empty, the rumpled sheets the only remaining indication of Viktor's presence. Well. That's not what Yuuri had expected. 

He'd expected Viktor to sleep in because he'd thought that after drinking so much alcohol everyone would sleep in. But apparently not. Ah, maybe it had something to do with Viktor being Russian. No wait, that was just a cliché. Ugh, whatever. 

As he closed the door behind him, Yuuri tried to suppress the panic that threatened to rise in his chest. After all, it wasn't like Viktor had risen extra early to avoid facing Yuuri and had left without saying a single word, right? 

Except for the fact that he had. 

When Yuuri found his mother sitting alone at the breakfast table, he felt his heart sink. So, Viktor had really left, hadn't he? 

"Good morning Yuuri," his mother greeted with a broad smile. 

"Mornin'," Yuuri mumbled. Even though it was just one word, it turned out a lot more disappointed than he'd intended it to be. 

"Minako's still asleep?" 

Ah, in the confusion of the morning Yuuri had nearly entirely forgotten about Minako-sensei. 

"Oh, I didn't look for her. But I guess if you haven't seen her yet, then she's still asleep." 

"Mhm, that's what I've thought too," his mother said, taking a sip of coffee. Then she set her mug down to sigh dreamily, "But, oh my, that Viktor's something. A gentleman through and through!" 

"You've seen him?" Yuuri blurted, way too loudly for his own liking. He tried to keep his voice calm as he continued, "I mean, you saw him this morning? Has he already left? And if he has, did he say anything about why he needed to leave?" 

"Yeah, I saw him this morning. I asked him what he wanted for breakfast, but instead he just asked me if he could get a pen and a note. After writing something down, he told me that he was terribly sorry about not being able to eat breakfast with me, but we'd catch up on that, he said. Oh, he's been so polite and nice..." 

Yuuri stared at his mother and waited for her to continue. But as she said nothing further, he asked kind of impatiently, "What, and then he left? And he didn't say why? And what's up with that note you mentioned?" 

"Oh, sorry, I got a little carried away. He said that the note was for you, and I'm supposed to give it to you as soon as you'd wake up. So, here it is." 

His mother picked up a small piece of paper that Yuuri hadn't even noticed lying on the table and handed it to him. He somehow unintentionally held his breath as he took in the rather messily scribbled words with great interest.

' _I'm sorry about leaving without telling you, but I didn't want to wake you up... (You're really cute when you're sleeping! ♡) But I had to go since I had to look for Makkachin after leaving him alone for the entire night. So, don't be mad... Anyway, this evening I'm coming to the ice rink like always. You're coming too, right? Well, see you then! - Viktor_ ' 

Yuuri stared at the note for a short moment before reading it again. No, he wasn't mistaken. Viktor had really written that he'd like to see Yuuri this very evening. Well, under normal circumstances this wouldn't have surprised Yuuri, but as the circumstances were anything but normal, Yuuri was surprised and relieved. And here he'd thought that Viktor had snuck off, not wanting to see Yuuri again any time soon. He was such an idiot, really. 

But maybe Viktor just wanted to see him to talk about yesterday's evening? Maybe he'd even tell him that he wouldn't visit the ice rink in the near future because he didn't want to see Yuuri? Oh dammit, no matter what he did, his brain always came up with the worst case scenario. Which made him worry his lip and his hands start to fiddle with the brim of his shirt. But he shouldn't be so negative about the whole thing. After all, Yuuri had been under the impression that Viktor might've taken a liking to being with him as well. So there was nothing to worry about, right?

\-------

As it turned out later the day, Yuuri's worrying had really been completely unnecessary.

Of course, he'd been fretting about what he should say or how he should react when he'd meet Viktor. But fortunately Viktor had made those decisions for him. In fact, he'd acted like he always did, coming over to the rental's counter and chatting with Yuuri about this and that. He was so nonchalant and casual about it that if Yuuri hadn't witnessed yesterday's events himself, he wouldn't have believed that anything of importance had happened at all. 

So, in the course of the evening it seemed as if they wouldn't talk about their making out, like, at all. Which was fine by Yuuri, really. Actually, he was just glad that he was able to skate with Viktor again after fearing that he might be gone for good. But Viktor wasn't gone. He was right here with Yuuri. 

So it was only legitimate for him to think that Viktor wouldn't come up with the topic at all. But as they were about to make their leave, standing in front of the ice rink's entrance, it seemed as if he'd been wrong. 

"So, see you tomorrow Viktor," Yuuri grinned, about to leave when Viktor suddenly grabbed his sleeve. 

"Uhm, Yuuri," he said, sounding somewhat nervous. "About yesterday." 

It wasn't on purpose, but as he turned around to face Viktor once more, he held his breath in expectation. Oh God, had Yuuri been wrong with his earlier assumptions? Was the worst case scenario yet to come?

Yuuri noticed the slight blush on Viktor's cheeks, and that was the moment he knew that Viktor was embarrassed about the whole affair. Oh shit, Yuuri needed to say something before everything would go downhill right here and now. 

"Yuuri, I wanted to - " "Viktor, you see, I - " 

They looked at each other for a second before both of them broke into a nervous little smile. 

"Go on," Viktor said then, indicating with a motion of his hand that Yuuri should finish his sentence first. 

"O-Okay. I was about to say that there's nothing to worry about. I-I mean you were drunk, and I got a little carried away, and things just turned out a little, err, unfortunate, and - "

As Yuuri kept on babbling on, he watched the small smile disappearing from Viktor's face. His features turned impassive, and Yuuri got even more frantic at the sight, not knowing _at all_ what Viktor was thinking. 

"Ah, no, wait, I didn't mean unfortunate!" Yuuri nervously went on, studying Viktor's features for any reaction. "I-I was trying to say that I'm sorry about my behavior, and that I shouldn't have taken advantage of you in that situation." 

"You taking advantage of me?" Viktor raised an eyebrow at Yuuri. "Yuuri, I'm - " 

"Nonono, you don't need to apologize or anything!" Yuuri interjected, desperate to get Viktor to understand what he was trying to say. "Like I already said, everything's alright. The past's in the past, and there's nothing you should worry about." 

Yuuri started to worry his lower lip as he stared at Viktor, waiting for his reaction. But Viktor just kept staring back, his hands on his hips, his face unreadable. Yuuri's nervousness increased by the second, but Viktor eventually released him from the heavy silence. 

"Alright." 

"Alright?" Yuuri repeated, not quite sure if he'd heard right. Was there really just that one word that Viktor wanted to say to the whole thing? 

"Yeah," Viktor shrugged nonchalantly. "If you say that everything was just an _unfortunate_ misunderstanding that you are _so sorry_ about, and that there's nothing to worry about, then that's how it is." 

Yuuri blinked at Viktor, surprised at his tone of voice and his reaction. 

"Well, if there's nothing more to say, I'll be off then. So, see you Yuuri."

And without any further ado, Viktor left, leaving Yuuri utterly dumbstruck and confused. He had the dim feeling that he'd said something terribly wrong, making things even worse than he'd feared them to turn out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If Yuuri let Viktor finish his sentences for _once_ , things would be a lot easier xD


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My dear, sweet, adorable readers, let me tell you that I love all of you guys!  
> Thank you all so much for your kudos and lovely comments! Ah, your support makes me super happy <33 *throws hearts and flowers and kittens at you* 
> 
> Haha, okay, enough sweet talking for now; you're here for the gays on ice and not my sappy rambling xD

"You, my dear Yuuri, look like _shit_." 

Yuuri lifted his head off the rental counter's surface to stare blankly at Yuuko. She was scrutinizing him with an arched eyebrow, her index finger tapping away at her lower lip. 

"Come again?" 

"Well, look at you. You look like you've been wrestling with your blanket all night, loosing against it and then crying yourself to sleep. If you slept at all 'cause I'm not too sure about that." 

"Why, thank you," Yuuri huffed ironically, letting his head hit the counter again. "Such friendly and encouraging words are _exactly_ what I need right now." 

"Oh c'mon, don't be mad. I'm just trying to make you laugh." 

"Hahaha! Yu-chan, oh you're so funny! I'm barely able to contain my laughter." 

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry! I had no idea that it was this bad." Yuuko brought her hands up in surrender before her brows drew together in worry. "Yuuri, what happened? You definitely don't act like your usual self." 

Yuuko placed a gentle hand on Yuuri's back, the playful tone from her earlier words gone. Yuuri let a sigh escape his lips as he straightened up, turning around to lean against the counter, his arms crossed over his chest. 

"No, it's just..." He sighed once more, staring blankly at the ground as if it would tell him how to go on. Which, of course, it didn't. What a surprise. 

After some beats of silence, he eventually said, "Well, you've been actually right about the 'not sleeping that much'." 

Yuuri brought a hand up to rub at the back of his neck as he thought about yesterday. After Viktor and him had that argument (well, Yuuri _guessed_ that it had been an argument, at least somehow), he'd returned home with the sinking feeling that he must've said something that really got to Viktor. Or else Viktor wouldn't have reacted the way he had. 

So, Yuuri had been ceaselessly wondering just what he could've said or done to offend Viktor like that. Well, he hoped that he'd 'just' offended him and not hurt him or anything. Because thinking about hurting Viktor made Yuuri's mouth go dry and his chest start to feel uncomfortably tight. So he told himself that Viktor wasn't the type to get hurt easily. Least of all by Yuuri. 

"So, something happened after all, right? I mean, you wouldn't look as worn out as you do, if nothing had happened." 

And that was the problem about childhood friends. They could read you like an open book even though you'd prefer it if they couldn't. Dammit. 

"Ah, it's nothing, really. ...Now c'mon, don't give me that look," Yuuri said, rolling his eyes at Yuuko. 

"But I need to give you that look, or else you'd just keep on bottling everything up, acting as if you had to fight every battle all of your own. Which, of course, you don't have to, you thickheaded idiot." 

Yuuri blinked at Yuuko, somehow amazed by the determination of her words. Still, he could hardly tell her that Viktor and him had had an argument about their make out session from the other day. 

So Yuuri just shot Yuuko a pleading look, his way of asking her to stop with the interrogation. But Yuuko had none of it. Of course.

There was a pondering silence as she contemplated Yuuri, before exclaiming, "No way! It's got something to do with your Viktor, right? Are you guys already done with cloud nine, or what?" 

Maybe it'd been a horrible mistake to think that Yuuko didn't possess the ability of mindreading. Because if she did, Yuuri was fucked. 

"Eeeh, Yu-chan, what are you talking about?" Yuuri said, trying for light hearted and failing gloriously. But he soldiered on, pursing his lips as he said, "This got nothing to do with Viktor." 

Even though he was lying right through his teeth, he hoped that Yuuko wouldn't notice. 

"Hmmm," Yuuko hummed, narrowing her eyes at him. "And here I thought it was a lover's spat." 

"Y-Yu-chan!" Yuuri spluttered, feeling a hot blush starting to bloom on his cheeks. 

"Eh, I didn't know Yuuri had a lover." 

Yuuri nearly jumped away from the counter as he heard the words spoken right behind him. He whirled around to find Viktor staring at them, cocking his head ever so slightly. 

"V-Viktor!" he exclaimed, feeling as if he was on the brink of a heart attack. Oh for heaven's sake, this wasn't his day, like, seriously. What had he done to deserve that kind of interrogation? Oh wait, he'd very much offended Viktor yesterday, so this was probably just Yuuri getting his just deserts.

When he'd finally overcome his initial shock, he started to scramble for words, thinking about the best way to explain this to Viktor _without_ mentioning that Yuuko and him had been talking about Viktor himself. 

"Ehm, well, you see, Yu-chan didn't mean it like _that_. She..." Yuuri threw Yuuko a _look_ , hoping that she’d get the clue. 

"I was just joking. Testing if I still knew all the right buttons to push to get Yuuri as flustered as possible," Yuuko deadpanned, her words accompanied by a confirmative nod. 

"Yu-chan!" Yuuri whined, burying his face in his hands. Just deserts or not, he was sure that he didn't deserve such embarrassment. 

"Oh, I see," Viktor said, sounding partly amused and partly confused. 

"Y-Yeah, it's like Yu-chan said. She's just making fun of me." Yuuri let his hands fall from his face because he was pretty sure that his blush had already reached the tips of his ears, so there was no need trying to hide it. 

Viktor's gaze jumped between Yuuri and Yuuko before he stated, "Obviously." 

Yuuri turned to look at Yuuko as well. She wore a broad self-satisfied smile and seemed to be enjoying herself extraordinarily. That little fiend. 

"Yeah, well, you know how it is," Yuuko shrugged. "You've got that childhood friend who's like a little brother to you. You want to tease him, you want to make him laugh, you want to protect him... Oh, speaking of protection." 

Yuuko stepped towards Viktor, placing her hands on the counter to lean right into his private space. Then her broad smile turned a tad frightening around the edges as she said, "If you're going to hurt Yuuri, and you might not even notice it because he's real good at hiding his true feelings, I'm going to make sure that you won't be able to set a single foot on the ice any time soon. And I'm not talking about Hasetsu Ice Castle only, if you know what I mean." 

Like this, she cheerfully pushed herself off the counter, about to make her leave. On the way she said, "Well, don't wanna steal your precious time. Work's calling for me anyway! So, see ya!" 

The skate rental's door fell shut behind her, leaving Viktor and Yuuri to stare dumbfounded in the general direction of her extraordinary exit. Well.

Yuuri wondered why dying of utter humiliation was no option right now. 

"Uhm, you're friend, she's - " 

"Please, don't," Yuuri cringed, shooting Viktor a look. "Let's just pretend this whole conversation never happened. Like, ever." 

Viktor stared at Yuuri for a moment, before his features gave in to a tiny smile. "What conversation are you talking about? I can't remember anyone conserving here." 

"Thank you," Yuuri sighed, bringing his hands up to massage his temples. Maybe he could erase those past couple of minutes from his short-term memory like this. But, really. Yuuko was just being _mean_ today. 

"Uhm, Yuuri, listen." 

Yuuri's eyes snapped to Viktor's face, alarmed by his somewhat uneasy tone of voice. Oh God, what would happen now? Oh wait, he knew what would happen now. Viktor would want to talk about yesterday. Dammit, Yuuri had known that there'd been a reason why this day had started out as shitty as it had. 

"Yeah?" he croaked, trying to hide his inner distress as best as he could. 

"Uhm, you think we could talk for a moment? Maybe step a little outside or something?" Viktor asked, shifting from one foot to the other. 

"S-Sure! Not like there's much going on today anyway..." 

They made their way to the ice rink's exit, and Yuuri tried to signal Yuuko in passing that he'd be right back. But instead of understanding, Yuuko's brow creased as she didn't get what he was trying to tell her. 

"Uhm, go on. I'll be right back," he said to Viktor. Then he went over to the reception where Yuuko had taken up her position again after her little visit at the rental. She was still looking kind of confused. 

"We're stepping out for a short moment," Yuuri said as he approached her. "I'll be right back." 

"Uh-huh," Yuuko said, raising a brow at him. "So a lover's spat after all?"

Yuuri threw her a look which was supposed to be deadly as he followed Viktor outside. Before he exited though, he mouthed "Fuck you" at Yuuko to wipe that smug smile off of her face. But in return, Yuuko just blew him a kiss, forming a heart with her hands and letting it pound in front of her chest. Yuuri rolled his eyes at her before he pushed the glass door open and stepped outside.

He found Viktor leaning against the wall some meters away from the entrance, his hands buried in his coat's pockets, his gaze plastered to the ground. Yuuri approached him somewhat nervously, fearing that this conversation might turn into another fiasco. 

"So, uhm." Yuuri started to rock back and forth on his heels, at a loss for smarter words. He'd leave the talking to Viktor today. Because, well, yesterday. No further explanations needed. 

"You and Yuuko, you get along pretty well, don't you?" Viktor didn't look at Yuuri as he mumbled those words. 

Yuuri blinked at Viktor, seemingly caught off guard. Did Viktor want to talk about Yuuko? Well, that wasn't what he'd been expecting. 

"Well, yeah, I've known Yu-chan since childhood, and we used to spend quite a lot of time together. It feels like she's always been around. Especially when I needed her. So, yeah, we get along pretty well," Yuuri said, starting to scratch at the back of his head. He really didn't know what Viktor wanted to hear from him when he asked such a question. 

"I see," Viktor said, still staring at the ground. Then he shot Yuuri a quick glance before asking, "Were you a couple at some point?" 

"Eh? Viktor, Yu-chan's married," Yuuri said, his brows shooting up in surprise. 

"Sure, but that doesn't exclude the option of you dating before her marriage. I mean, you liked her, didn't you?" 

"Y-Yeah, sure, but that's..." Yuuri felt his cheeks starting to heat up. "I-It's not like she'd ever thought that I was anything else but a little brother to her. So no, we never dated. Besides, it feels like it's been an eternity since that silly crush, so there's really no need to bring it up _now_. We already talked about it the other day anyway..." 

Viktor made a noncommittal noise, shooting Yuuri another look. Yuuri actually pursed his lips at that before saying, "Really! If you're not believing me, I'll say it once again: I don't like Yu-chan in _that_ way! Now, satisfied?"

Yuuri crossed his arms over his chest as he searched Viktor's features for a reaction. And if Yuuri wasn't mistaken, he believed that the corners of Viktor's lips quirked up ever so slightly. 

Geez, why would Viktor want to talk about such an old topic anyway? Or more importantly, why was it so important toYuuri to convince Viktor of the fact that he didn't harbor any feelings for Yuuko any longer?

"Alright, alright. That's not the topic I initially wanted to talk about anyway." Viktor pushed himself off the wall, finally turning to face Yuuri. "I wanted to talk about yesterday. Like, again. Uh, it kinda feels like we're talking a lot about yesterday lately." 

Yuuri could be wrong, but was Viktor nervous? Well, he definitely sounded somewhat nervous. Oh God, Viktor being nervous? Yuuri felt like that wasn't a good sign. 

"Uh, yeah," Yuuri said lamely. What was he supposed to say to that? Probably nothing. He'd just go with listening then.

"Yeah, anyway,” Viktor went on. “I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I kinda, err, overreacted. ...So, yeah, sorry." Viktor apologetically ducked his head, shooting Yuuri a quick glance. 

If Yuuri hadn't been too stunned by Viktor's words, he'd be internally squealing about his adorableness right now, like, seriously. Viktor looking like that was a menace. To his heart.

"Wait. You're apologizing? Shouldn't I be the one telling you that he was sorry? I mean, I obviously said something wrong, or else you wouldn't have reacted the way you did..." 

"Uh, well, no. I mean, after returning home, I thought about what you said. A-And well, I realized that you hadn't meant it the way I interpreted it. So my reaction was pretty inappropriate. And that’s why – Uhm yeah. I’m sorry," Viktor mumbled, avoiding Yuuri's eyes. And wait, was Viktor blushing? No way. 

"Uhm, if it's like this," Yuuri said, still staring at Viktor in surprise, "I'm actually kinda relieved. You see, I thought that you'd hate me now. Or something."

"Eh? I'd never hate you, Yuuri." Viktor finally turned to look into Yuuri’s eyes, and, oh God, he really _meant_ what he was saying. Yuuri's heart did funny things at that realization. 

"R-Right," Yuuri eventually said. "So, we're, uhm, good now?" 

This time Viktor's lips curled up into a real smile. 

"Yeah. We're good, Yuuri."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I definitely enjoyed writing this chapter! xD  
> (It's never too early for a good old-fashioned shovel talk, right? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) )


	6. Chapter 6

Since they had talked the other day, there hadn't been one single day where Yuuri hadn't been with Viktor for _at least_ a couple of hours. For example, they'd taken to stay at the ice rink even after closing hour, spending always quite some time skating before they'd call it a day. When they'd asked Yuuko whether it was okay with her or not, she'd reacted just like Yuuri had thought she would react; she said that she was totally fine with it as long as they'd stick to some instructions like turning all lights off and locking the doors and everything. 

And man, it was awesome as _fuck_ to have the ice all to yourself. You didn't have to worry about anyone staring, and you didn’t have to ignore them if they did. Yuuri didn't need to get off the ice as soon as anyone who hadn't returned their rental skates yet wanted to return them and leave. He didn't need to worry _at all_ , he could just enjoy himself and his shared time with Viktor. And boy did he enjoy his time with Viktor. 

When they were alone together, it felt somehow more intimate than before. Because now Yuuri knew that Viktor wouldn't hate him even though he sometimes stumbled over his own words; that Viktor wouldn't leave him just because Yuuri's skating skills weren't good enough; that it was okay for Yuuri to take up as much of Viktor's time as he could. Okay, he knew that sounded selfish, but Yuuri just couldn't help himself when it came to the beautiful Russian. He wanted to be with Viktor as often as he could and as long as he could. 

And Viktor let him. He gave him so much of his time, so much of his attention. It felt like he gave Yuuri his everything. And oh, it made Yuuri feel dizzy with happiness and warmth, filling him up to the very brim, so it felt like he was overflowing with joy. Which was a feeling that he wanted to hold on to.

This evening was the first time Yuuri would visit Viktor's place. Viktor had been going on and on about Makkachin and at some point Yuuri told him that he wanted to see the real Makkachin instead of the endless photos Viktor showed him on his phone. Because Yuuri actually loved dogs. He'd even had a dog of his own not too long ago, but his buddy had died this year's spring. So he was pretty keen on meeting Makkachin since he had to admit that he missed having a dog around. 

Viktor had said that Yuuri coming over to his place was due anyway, so that's how they ended up on Viktor's threshold after a long evening of skating. 

"I gotta warn you," Viktor grinned as he unlocked the door. "Makkachin's not the restrained type. But you're fine with getting attacked by the cutest furball ever, right?" 

"The only thing I'm afraid of is suffering a heart attack from too much adorableness." 

"Right," Viktor laughed. He pushed the door wide open and made a sweeping gesture. "Mi casa es su casa!" 

"What, Russian, Japanese _and_ Spanish? I'm impressed." Yuuri shot Viktor an amused look as he stepped inside. Oh, he was just so excited to see what Viktor's home would look like that he needed to keep himself from dashing off and exploring everything right away. 

"Nah, that pretty much covers two thirds of my Spanish skills," Viktor chuckled as he closed the door behind them. Suddenly they heard some barking from inside the apartment, followed by the sound of paws drumming on the floor. "Oh, better get ready for the attack." 

"Oh my God!" Yuuri squealed as Makkachin threw himself at him. Yuuri crouched down to pet the dog, and Makkachin started to lick his face with great gusto. "You're about the cutest little something I've ever seen!!" 

Yuuri started to ruffle Makkachin's fur, greatly enjoying the feeling. Oh, he'd already taken the poodle to his heart. 

"Geez, I can't believe just how adorable your dog is Viktor. How old is he?" 

But as there came no response from Viktor, Yuuri turned to look up at him. He was staring down at Yuuri with one of his hands partly covering his mouth, his eyes shining and a slight blush dusting his cheeks. Yuuri raised a quizzical eyebrow. Viktor blinked at him then, the blush on his cheeks turning deeper. 

"I-I'm sorry, what did you say?" 

"I asked how old Makkachin was." 

"Ah, yeah, of course. Makkachin's actually pretty old. I got him when I was seventeen," Viktor said. Then he crouched down next to Yuuri, scratching Makkachin behind his ears. "What do you think? Should we go for a walk with him?" 

"Absolutely!" Yuuri beamed at Viktor before adding in a calmer voice, "Uh, if that's okay I mean." 

A beautiful smile started to bloom on Viktor's face as he got up. "The way he's looking at us he'd be pretty disappointed if we didn't." 

As if in response, Makkachin let out a bark, wagging his tail enthusiastically, his black eyes all shiny and glittery. Yep, Yuuri definitely adored that dog. Less than two minutes were plenty enough to come to that realization. 

So they stepped out into the cold night air once more with Makkachin leading the way. But after some time in the cold, Yuuri's hands started to feel quite icy, and he brought them up to his mouth, trying to warm them with his breath. That was when Yuuri caught Viktor watching him, his eyes fixed on his hands. 

"What?" Yuuri asked. 

"Why don't you say something if you're hands are cold?" 

Then Viktor started to take off his gloves, but Yuuri already hurried to say, "Ah, no, it's alright! Don't take them off, or your own hands will get cold!" 

But Viktor didn't listen to him, already offering Yuuri one of his gloves. He took it and put it on with a small pout, even though he definitely appreciated the gesture. Well, Viktor surely was a gentleman. 

Then, instead of offering Yuuri his second glove, Viktor simply took Yuuri's other hand into his own, intertwining their fingers as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Yuuri blinked at their joined fingers. 

"What are you doing?" His eyes jumped between Viktor's face and their hands, and Yuuri had to admit that it was a picture he could get used to. After all, the warmth radiating from Viktor's hand, his smooth warm skin wrapped around Yuuri's cold fingers, felt pretty nice. 

"What? That's how you do it if you've got only one pair of gloves. One glove for each of us, and the other hands without gloves... Well, they would get cold like this, so you gotta keep them warm in another way." Viktor said it quite casually, but he didn't look at Yuuri while doing so, only shooting him a quick glance. 

Yuuri stared at Viktor for a moment before he felt his cheeks heat up. Oh, so that's how it's done, huh? 

"I-If you say so," Yuuri huffed. Then he gave Viktor's hand an experimental squeeze. Viktor looked at him at that, his own cheeks covered with a faint blush now. Yuuri didn't understand why his heart started to beat faster when he saw Viktor like this because he was pretty sure that Viktor's cheeks were reddened from the cold. Nothing special. 

As they kept on walking the streets, following Makkachin in his wake, Yuuri started to wonder just why the hand held by Viktor felt so impossibly hot, as if his fingers were on fire, whereas the one clad in the glove felt almost cold in comparison.

\------

"Go on and just pick a movie. I'll join you as soon as the tea is done."

When they'd returned from the walk, it somehow went without saying that it was too early for Yuuri to leave just yet. So they had come up with the idea of making it a movie night with Yuuri staying over and everything. Which was a pretty good idea if you asked Yuuri. Yeah, a damn good idea. But if he thought about it, he was probably a tad _too_ excited about it. But whatever. 

So now Yuuri was standing in Viktor's living room, staring at the movies in the shelf next to the TV. Viktor was in the kitchen, making them tea as the cool winter breeze had pretty much chilled them through. But Yuuri was kind of at a loss. Just what movie should he pick? There were quite some titles in Japanese but also a lot of English and Russian ones. Well, at least Yuuri could read and understand the English ones, but the Russian... It definitely caught Yuuri off guard to be confronted with Viktor's native tongue like this. It made him feel upset about the fact that he wasn't even able to _read_ the words which would roll off Viktor's tongue easy enough. Oh dammit, maybe he should pick up some Russian classes. 

"You found anything?" Viktor asked as he entered the living room with two steaming cups of tea. 

"Not really. To be honest, I'm currently too overwhelmed by the multilingualism in your movie shelf," Yuuri admitted, scratching at the back of his head sheepishly. 

Viktor huffed out a warm laugh, setting the mugs aside on the glass table in front of the couch. Then he walked over to Yuuri, his hands on his hips as he stared at the movies as well. 

"Well, I guess you can just ignore the Russian and English ones, so let's pick one from the Japanese." 

"Uhm, actually..." Yuuri reached for a movie, handing it over to Viktor. 

"Oh," Viktor said, looking at the English cover of the first film of the The Lord of the Rings series. "That's not what I expected." 

"Ah, well, it was just an idea since I thought that it'd be pretty cool to have a Lord of the Rings marathon or something," Yuuri said, his eyes jumping between Viktor's face and the movie. 

"Ah no, that's not what I meant. I was just surprised that you liked The Lord of the Rings, that's all." Viktor's lips curled up into one of those private smiles that always made Yuuri feel weak at the knees.

To play it off, Yuuri raised a challenging eyebrow at Viktor and said, "One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them." 

Viktor stared at Yuuri for a second before his smile turned even broader. "Now, my dear Yuuri, I think that's going to be an awesome movie night."

\------

When Yuuri blinked his eyes open, it was to Gimli and Legolas slaying orcs in the battle for Minas Tirith. He didn't know when he'd drifted off to sleep, but he believed that he remembered watching the very beginning of The Return of the King.

Now he found himself outstretched on the couch, his head resting in Viktor's lap with Viktor casting his fingers absentmindedly through Yuuri's hair. As his eyes were fixed on the screen, he didn't notice Yuuri waking up. And Yuuri was glad about it. He really didn't feel like explaining his blush to Viktor right now. He really didn't. So he guessed that it was alright for him to revel in the feeling of getting petted by Viktor _without_ letting him know that he was actually awake. That warm fuzzy feeling starting to roll in his stomach was something that Yuuri wanted to enjoy just a little longer. 

When he blinked his eyes open for the second time, it was to a black TV screen and Viktor's fingers gently stroking his cheek. 

"Hey Yuuri, I think it's time we went to bed," Viktor whispered softly, followed by a huge yawn of his. 

"Nooo," Yuuri whined, letting his eyes fall shut once more. Getting up from the couch and going to sleep meant _moving_. Which seemed like a pretty horrible idea to Yuuri right now. 

"But it's already super late, and a warm bed is by far more comfortable than the couch," Viktor tried to coax him. Yuuri just gave another whine in response, followed by the words "No moving". 

"Alright," Viktor said as he gently lifted Yuuri's head off of his lap to stand up. Yuuri whined again, this time at the loss of Viktor's warmth and his lap pillow. But the contact wasn't lost for long as Viktor suddenly scooped Yuuri up into his arms, carrying him off to where Yuuri guessed his bedroom was. 

"Well, you said no moving, so..." Viktor said, and Yuuri could clearly hear the smile in his voice. Viktor walked them down a hallway until they arrived in front of a half closed door which he pushed open with his hip. Then they crossed the room before Viktor set Yuuri down on his bed, a large king sized bed with rumpled navy blue sheets and a heap of pillows. Yuuri was instantly smitten, feeling like he could go back to sleep right away. 

"I hope it's okay if we share the bed," Viktor's voice drifted to Yuuri's ear, and he just nodded along with it. Then he crawled under the sheets, burying his face in the pillows. 

He heard a soft chuckle from above. "I guess you don't want to go to the bathroom first, right?" 

Yuuri shook his head. Then he wrapped the blanket tighter around himself before mumbling, "My precious." 

That earned him a genuine laugh from Viktor. "Right. Then, I'll be right back." 

After some time, Yuuri heard the door of the bedroom click shut just before the lights turned off. Then he felt the mattress dip on the other side of the bed when Viktor eventually crawled under the sheets as well. 

"Hey Yuuri," he whispered softly into the silence of the dark room. 

"Mhm?" 

"C'mere." 

Yuuri blinked his heavy eyes open once more to find Viktor lifting his blanket invitingly, giving him a dazzling smile. A small smile started to tug at the corners of his own lips as he scooted over to Viktor, snuggling up to him and burying his face in his neck. Then Viktor wrapped the blanket around the two of them just before Yuuri was already drifting off to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well guys, the rating goes up for this one...

When Yuuri's eyes fluttered open, it was to warm sunlight flooding the room. It dyed everything in beautiful shades of gold, and Yuuri thought that it was going to be a clear and crisp winter morning. 

Though it was surely cold outside, Yuuri felt comfortably warm, the thick blanket reaching the tip of his nose. But not only the blanket was keeping him warm. Viktor was pressed up against him from behind, spooning him with one of his arms draped over Yuuri's chest and their legs tangled together. Yuuri wasn't as startled as he should've been. In fact, he wasn't startled at all. Which was weird. Because Viktor and Yuuri were close, sure, but not _that_ close. 

Yet Yuuri felt at total ease. He felt safe and cared about, a feeling that reminded him of how it had felt when his mother had scooped him up in her arms when he'd been a little boy. But this feeling was different. This feeling came with a racing heartbeat, with a heat that seared his cheeks and the tips of his ears, with an excitement that made his stomach flip. It was new and strange and it felt so _glorious_ that Yuuri thought he might actually drown in it. 

He could feel Viktor's calm heartbeat against his back, his even breath ghosting over Yuuri's neck. Yuuri was surrounded by him, Viktor was claiming all of his senses. Even when Yuuri took a deep breath, he smelled nothing but _Viktor_. It was dizzying, or rather _intoxicating_. 

_Oh God,_ he thought as he buried his face in the blanket, _Viktor, what are you doing to me?_

Like, seriously. It was way too early to think such embarrassing stuff. He huffed out a small breath, trying to calm his ridiculously fast heartbeat. He was being silly, oh so silly. So Viktor was the type to cuddle, and Yuuri the type to enjoy it immensely. Nothing wrong about it. To prove it to himself, Yuuri tried to turn around in Viktor's embrace to drape an arm of his own over Viktor. Gladly, Viktor didn't wake up as he did so, but Yuuri faltered for a short moment when he heard Viktor's breath hitch before it went back to an even rhythm of exhaling and inhaling. Now he lay there, his arm draped over Viktor's hip, his eyes fixed on Viktor's resting features. 

He was beautiful. Astonishingly beautiful. His bangs fell over his eyes like a silver cascade, shining and liquid like water in the morning sun. Yuuri brought a hesitant hand up to featherlightly touch the loose strands before he brushed them out of Viktor's face.

Viktor's closed eyes were impossibly beautiful as well. He had that kind of long thick lashes that women would kill for. And he knew _exactly_ how to use them. Or at least Yuuri thought so since he wasn't sure whether Viktor did it on purpose or not. Because every now and then, if he wanted to persuade Yuuri of something, he would just incline his head ever so slightly, gazing at Yuuri through those long silver lashes. And if he did that look, he could play Yuuri like a fiddle. If Viktor was ever to find out about this, it would probably be Yuuri's undoing. 

Ah, and he was back to thinking silly things. He should stop staring all starry-eyed at Viktor's face, like, seriously. So the only logical thing to do was to bury his own face in Viktor's neck right _now_. Yeah, totally logical. 

No wait, what was he even doing? He wasn’t making sense right now, like, at all. But instead of thinking about it too closely, Yuuri just blamed it on the sleepiness still fogging his brain. Anyway, it was only natural for him to want to stay warm, and Viktor was blissfully warm, so yeah. No need challenging that argument. 

Yuuri let a small sigh escape his lips before he let his eyes fall shut. He listened to Viktor's heartbeat, and it didn't take long before its steady rhythm lulled him back to sleep.

\------

When Yuuri fell into bed this evening ( _his_ bed, though he wouldn't have minded, if it had been Viktor's bed), it was with a loud groan.

He'd spent the rest of the day with Viktor as well, starting with a Russian breakfast and ending with a long skating session. Now, alone again and thinking about the events of the past days, there was one question bugging Yuuri: How could anyone be so perfect, like, seriously? Yuuri didn't know how to deal with so much perfection. 

Viktor was so kind and beautiful and skilled and amazing and irresistible and - Wait. He should stop. Right there. But, dammit, if Viktor wasn't the embodiment of perfect, probably nobody was. He could even _cook_ for crying out loud. That original Russian breakfast had Yuuri gaping at Viktor before digging in with great gusto. Viktor had even winked at him and grinned, " _Just for you~!_ " 

It had been too much for his poor heart to take. But lately, his poor heart had been overstrained anyway. If those palpitations he always got when Viktor was around were any indication. Or his body in general. Viktor did things to him which his mind refused to comprehend, but his body would understand all too well. 

Since their making out that one evening, Yuuri's body had become impossibly sensitive to Viktor's touches. Those occasional touches, deliberate or coincidental, it was hard to tell, left his skin burning and aching for more. When Yuuri caught himself longing for Viktor's touch, he'd blush furiously, trying to shoo away the thought of skin brushing over skin. But it took an awful amount of self control. An awful amount which he sometimes wasn't able to muster up. 

So he'd allow himself the occasional fantasy now and then. He'd let himself think about what it would feel like to touch Viktor's impeccable body. How it would feel to run his fingers featherlightly over his pale skin, how the muscles would bunch under his touch. But that was about everything he'd allow himself. Thinking. Because if this thinking turned into something more... Well, things would just go downhill from there. And that pretty quickly. Yet... 

Yuuri turned in his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Maybe he could stifle the heat like this which was threatening to set his face on fire. Viktor had already been so impossibly close to him, so close that Yuuri couldn't tell where one of them began and the other ended. It was _maddening_. 

His thoughts started to wander, and they eventually went back to that one damned evening. Yuuri closed his eyes and felt Viktor's lips on his own again, the intoxicating feeling of their tongues sliding together. The feeling of Viktor wanting to _devour_ him. The way Viktor had moaned Yuuri's name rang in his ears, and it took his breath away for a short moment. Fuck. He should forget about those memories for good before they'd drive him fucking crazy. 

_"Yuuri, I want you so badly right now."_

Shit. 

Shit, shit, shit, this was not what he should be thinking about. Viktor had been drunk, so this was nothing that should make him feel as hot as he currently was. But, dammit, Yuuri couldn't help but remember the way Viktor had _looked_ at him with his eyes heavy lidded and hooded with lust, his lips slightly parted, red and shiny from their kissing. He'd looked so debauched and needy that Yuuri still wondered how he'd managed not to jump Viktor right then and there. 

Oh God, Viktor's hard cock pressed against his own erection had felt so good, so good. What would it have felt like, if Viktor had started grinding his hips into his own then? The friction created by their cocks sliding together over the denim of Yuuri's pants and the thin material of Viktor's boxer briefs? Oh God, it would've felt so prefect, it would've made Yuuri throw all his remaining restraints to the wind. 

When Yuuri caught himself rutting against the mattress, he swallowed thickly. Shit, this was exactly what he'd _not_ wanted to do. Yet here he was, his already painfully hard cock trapped between himself and the mattress. He took a shuddering breath, trying to keep his hips from moving. But after a torturous moment of holding completely still, a whimper escaped his lips, and Yuuri knew that he was fighting a losing battle against his body. Dammit. Maybe throwing all restraints to the wind was exactly what he should be doing right now after all. 

He turned around and sat against the headboard of his bed. He inhaled deeply as he tried to steady his quickened breath. So, was he really going to do this? But to be honest, he was already too far gone to be asking himself that question. His aching cock was screaming for action. 

Yuuri pushed his sweatpants and briefs down and sighed in relief as his hard cock sprang free. Then he curled his fingers around its base, gasping at the desperately needed touch. He began working his hand on his cock then, long strokes, a steady rhythm of up and down. 

Yuuri bit his lower lip as he went back to fantasizing about what Viktor would’ve done, if Yuuri had let him have his way with him. 

_"Yuuri, I want you so badly right now," Viktor whispered. As if to emphasize his words, he started rolling his hips into Yuuri's, creating a blissful friction that made Yuuri forget how to breathe. He felt like he was actually drowning._

_But it was not enough. He wanted more, he_ needed _more, he needed to feel Viktor skin to skin._

_"V-Viktor," he breathed, "I need you to - "_

_But he was hushed with a fierce kiss, their tongues sliding together in that way that went straight to Yuuri’s cock. Viktor kissed him sloppily, almost frantically as if he needed it like oxygen. It made Yuuri feel like he was the only one who could satisfy Viktor. It was a feeling that made him feel dizzy with arousal._

_When they broke apart for air, Viktor stared at him like a predator would stare at his prey, and it send a shiver down Yuuri's spine. Then Viktor’s lips curled into a dirty little grin as he purred, "I know_ exactly _what you need."_

_He slid down Yuuri's body, settling between his legs. Then he ran his fingertips over Yuuri's inner thighs up to his crotch only to stop tantalizingly close to the bulge tenting his pants._

_"Viktor," he whined, not caring whether he sounded needy as fuck or not. At this point, he was already too far gone to care._

_A slow smile started to form on Viktor's lips as he eventually freed Yuuri's throbbing cock from its contraption, grabbing it firmly at the base to run a single thump up its length._

_"Look at you," Viktor said, starting to circle the head, "you're already like this, hard and panting just for me, even though I've barely touched you yet. God, you're so gorgeous like this. With your eyes all clouded over and that pretty flush of yours. But do you know what would suit you even better,_ Yuuri _?"_

_Yuuri wondered how Viktor managed to breathe his name so dirtily that it made the tips of his ears turn pink and his cock twitch with arousal. Really, his name just sounded obscene spoken by those pretty lips._

_"W-What?" he eventually managed to huff out as he was trying his level best not to just rut into Viktor's fist._

_"Me." And like this, Viktor bent over, his lips grazing the head of Yuuri's cock, before he swallowed it in one go._

_"Oh God!" Yuuri gasped, momentarily overwhelmed by the wet heat of Viktor's mouth on his cock._

Yuuri threw his head back with a moan, picking up the pace of his hand. Oh God, this was just so impossibly hot that he already felt like he wouldn't last much longer. 

_Viktor started to bob his head on Yuuri's cock then, and the picture of Viktor's pretty mouth working up and down his shaft got Yuuri moaning. Yuuri's hands found their way into Viktor's hair, giving it an experimental tug. This earned him a groan from Viktor which vibrated blissfully on his cock._

_Viktor gazed up at him through his thick lashes, his eyes predatory and heavy with lust. Yuuri wondered how it was possible for a man with his mouth full of cock to look as powerful as Viktor did. His gaze was hypnotizing Yuuri, making him forget to breathe for a moment, before he drew a shuddering breath. Seeing Viktor like this, his pretty lips wrapped around Yuuri's cock, was like a drug. His body was already addicted to it whereas his mind was too clouded to catch up._

_"God, Viktor," Yuuri moaned, as the heat rolling in his stomach started to become unbearable. "God, I'm so close. You're so good, it's - "_

_He was cut off by a loud gasp as Viktor suddenly swallowed him_ whole _, the tip of Yuuri's cock touching the back of his throat. A string of curses escaped his lips as he tried his level best not to buck his hips into Viktor's mouth. Viktor noticed his struggling and placed a hand on Yuuri's hip, a firm pressure to hold him down._

_That's it. He was so close to ecstasy, only one step needed to throw him over the edge._

_"V-Viktor stop, or else I'll - " Yuuri managed to grind out, but then Viktor was hollowing his cheeks and_ sucking _, and Yuuri was flying over the edge with a cry, white stars exploding in front of his eyes._

_Viktor's lips kept on working on his cock as he rode out his orgasm, swallowing every droplet of his cum. When Yuuri was eventually getting down from his high, Viktor let his cock fall from his mouth with an obscene pop. Then he turned to look at Yuuri, a smirk gracing his features as he wiped the back of his hand over his shiny red lips. If Yuuri hadn't had the probably most amazing orgasm of his life only some moments ago, the picture would've made him hard, like, right away._

_Viktor truly was incredible._

Yuuri's breath finally started to even out as he stared down at his come-covered hand. He couldn't remember the last time he'd come that hard from his own hand. He stared down at it with a mixture of awe and humiliation.

Fuck. Okay. This had been...intense, to say the least. Like, wow, okay, he needed a moment to wrap his mind around the fact that he'd just jerked off to a fantasy about Viktor that had him shamelessly whimpering and gasping and moaning his name. 

Yuuri felt a distinct panic starting to rise in his chest, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Oh God, how was he supposed to face Viktor after this? How was he supposed to look him in the eye after he'd shamelessly fantasized about him? And jerked off to it? Shit, this had been such a terrible idea.

Like, for fuck's sake, this was bad. Like I'm-so-fucked-I-don't-even-know-what-to-do-bad. Like I'm-sorry-but-I'm-blushing-because-a-fantasy-about-you-got-me-hot-and-panting-last-night-bad. Shit. 

Maybe he'd just play sick tomorrow to wallow in embarrassment and utter shame. Yeah, this seemed like a reasonable, valid option.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Don't look at me like that *hides under table*


	8. Chapter 8

Yuuri absentmindedly watched the people skate, one elbow propped on the counter in front of him to rest his chin on his hand. 

He hadn't played sick. Sure, he could have, but then again he'd thought about how he'd promised Yuuko to help her out and that it wouldn't be nice to let her down just because he couldn't get his shit together. So no wallowing in embarrassment. In fact, Yuuri thought he was too old for that kind of stuff. He was a reasonable adult, and he was surely able to interact normally with the man he'd fantasized about only the night before. 

Yuuri cringed at that thought. If he already needed that kind of pep talk, he was even more pathetic than he'd thought he was. Oh, he was such a looser, really. But that was nothing new. When it came to Viktor, Yuuri always felt like the biggest idiot to ever walk this planet. With his awkward stuttering, tripping over his tongue and furious blushing Viktor just _had_ to think of him as an idiot. But an idiot he liked, perhaps. That was the only reason Yuuri could come up with for Viktor still spending time with him. 

Yuuri stared off into the ice rink, a small sigh escaping his lips. He took off his glasses to rub at his eyes, his brow furrowing. Then he turned to smack his cheeks. Oh, for heaven's sake, when had he turned into such a negative worrywart? Even Yuuri himself couldn't stand it any longer, really. He shouldn't be lamenting his alleged inability to act normally when Viktor was around, if he hadn't even tried it yet. Because he was pretty sure that if he put his mind to it, he could act just as confidently as Viktor did. He could be just as smooth and charming as the beautiful Russian. After all, how was he supposed to convince Viktor of the fact that he wasn't a complete idiot, if he didn't believe it himself? 

So, today he'd prove it to Viktor and himself. He'd prove that he, Katsuki Yuuri, could be a charmer par excellence who'd make Viktor go weak at the knees. Yeah, to hell with fidgeting and stammering, today Yuuri would be the epitome of self-confidence.

\------

Well, at least he tried.

"C'mon Viktor, you said that we'd practice that step sequence I wanted to learn," Yuuri said in a playful tone as he came to a halt in front of Viktor, who was leaning against the rink-board. Viktor's chest was still slightly heaving from their earlier practice, and he brought a hand up to wipe at his forehead, his skin glistening with sweat. 

When Viktor had arrived at the ice rink, Yuuri had still been determined to dumbfound Viktor with his self-confidence. He’d tried his level best, really, being all touchy-feely and stuff, but Viktor was just too damned stunning to not stutter and blush. It was just impossible, utterly and truly impossible.

"God, Yuuri," Viktor huffed out, his lips curling into an amused smile. "Where did you get that stamina from?" 

"What?" Yuuri grinned back, raising his brows at Viktor. "Already tired, old man?" 

Yuuri watched Viktor's brows shoot up before he narrowed his eyes at Yuuri, his grin turning playful. Then he pushed himself off the rink-board, slowly closing in on Yuuri as he asked, "What did you call me, you cheeky little brat?" 

Yuuri started to skate backwards, biting his lower lip as his grin turned even wider. "Uh-oh, are you already hard of hearing? Oh my, things are looking bad for you, _old man_." 

"Oh, you little!" 

Yuuri let out a small squeak as Viktor tried to grab for him, but he dodged him and took off at a breakneck pace, hoping that Viktor would come after him and catch him. And of course Viktor would chase him. It barely took him a second to realize what Yuuri wanted him to do, and then Yuuri could already hear his blades scraping against the ice. 

Yuuri broke into a giggle as he flew over the ice, throwing Viktor the occasional glance to check how close he was. As he saw the huge grin on Viktor's handsome features, Yuuri couldn't contain his laughter any longer, and soon the sound of their blades cutting over the ice and their joined laughter was echoing through the ice rink. 

Yuuri couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed that genuinely and loudly. It felt glorious and liberating, and the cold air stinging in his lungs with every breath he heaved between laughs that drove tears to his eyes made him feel joy surging through every fiber of his body. He felt alive and just so utterly happy that he thought he might burst with the feeling. 

But the force of his laughter slowed him down, and at some point he nearly toppled over with it. But Viktor was already right behind him, catching him by the waist. Yuuri escaped a surprised yelp at the sudden contact as Viktor's arms wrapped tightly around him. 

"Gotcha!" he laughed, the beautiful sound ringing next to Yuuri's ear. Like this, they just stood, Viktor hugging him from behind, and laughed for what felt like an eternity. At some point, Yuuri had to take off his glasses to dap at his wet eyes. It felt glorious, laughing loudly and carefreely with Viktor as if there wasn't a single thing in this world to worry about. As if Yuuri had nowhere else to be but in Viktor's arms, listening to his laughter and feeling his very soul sing along with it. It felt like that kind of dream that you wouldn’t want to wake up from. 

After a while, Yuuri's cheeks started to hurt from all the giggling and smiling, and he thought about how astounding it was. Viktor made him laugh, with or without an actual reason. Made him laugh so hard that his whole face would hurt from the force of it, that he'd feel like his lungs might burst from laughing too loudly. 

Eventually, their laughter turned into the occasional giggle before it subsided, the sound of their ragged breaths the only thing left filling the air. Yuuri could feel Viktor's chest heave, the feeling of his heartbeat as clear as if it was drumming directly against Yuuri's back. He let his eyes fall shut and reveled in the feeling, and maybe, just maybe, their heartbeats were even synchronized for a moment. The thought made the corners of his lips curl into a fond smile. 

Suddenly, Viktor huffed out a breath before he placed his head on Yuuri's shoulder, burying his face in his neck. It made Yuuri's heart stutter for a short moment, before it picked its pace up again. Yuuri could feel Viktor's lips against his skin, the warm breath tingling against his neck raising the skin of his arms in gooseflesh. Viktor just stayed like this, content with nuzzling against his neck, tightening his arms around him to hold him in an even more intimate embrace. It felt like Viktor was holding on for dear life, as if he'd want to hold on and never let go. It was a breathtaking feeling. 

Neither of them said a word. Yuuri kept himself from blushing as he stood absolutely still, fearing that if he moved, Viktor would break the intimate contact. Yuuri closed his eyes and took a shaky breath, having not even noticed that he'd been holding it. He marveled at how fast Viktor's heart was beating. Though he had to admit that he himself wasn't any better. But perhaps Viktor wouldn't notice. 

Then Viktor's lips started to move against his skin as he whispered, "You know, I could stay like this forever." 

The words were spoken so softly that Yuuri wondered for a brief moment whether he'd just imagined them. But then Viktor sighed his name, a rush of hot air tickling his skin, the word vibrating against his neck. It made Yuuri swallow thickly and tremble like a leaf. Oh, he got so weak when Viktor called his name, so weak. 

But then he thought about how he wanted to be the one to make Viktor go weak at the knees. How he'd told himself that he could be every bit as charming as Viktor. So Yuuri took a shuddering breath before he turned his head to drop a lingering kiss onto Viktor's hair. Then he buried his face in it, inhaling deeply before sighing Viktor's name, just like he'd sighed his only moments before. He felt a delicate shudder running through Viktor's body, and Yuuri had to smile into Viktor's hair. 

_Yeah_ , he thought, _I could stay like this forever too._

\------

"Yuuri, have you by any chance googled Viktor at some point?"

"Huh?" Yuuri looked up at Minako in surprise. He then lowered his leg from the barre in front of him, where it had rested so he could reach for his toes to stretch. "Why would I google Viktor?" 

"Well," Minako said vaguely, giving him a small shrug. "Out of pure curiosity?" 

"Uh, no?" Yuuri's brow furrowed as he shot Minako a skeptical look. "Have you?" 

"That's the point," Minako said as she brought her hand up to tap at her lower lip. "You see, after that evening of meeting Viktor, I couldn't help but wonder whether or not I had seen that guy before. I mean, you know this feeling you sometimes get when you think you remember a face but aren't quite sure?" 

Yuuri slowly shook his head, his brow knitting even further. Just what was Minako trying to tell him? 

"Well, anyway," she went on, ignoring Yuuri's quizzical look, "you're right, I googled him. And I found out that I was right about having seen him before. On TV I guess."

"God, Minako-sensei, don't beat around the bush," Yuuri groaned. "What do you mean you've seen him on TV before? What did you find out?" 

A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she finally declared, "So you did not know that you're actually skating with the probably most famous and successful figure skater of the past couple of years?" 

"Huh? I mean, no I didn't..." Yuuri let the sentence trail off as he tried to process Minako's words. Most famous and successful figure skater of the past couple of years? Well, that sounded...fancy, he guessed. But what was it supposed to tell him?

"I mean, of course, Viktor skates like a young god, but - " 

"Nuh-uh, no but," Minako interrupted him. "That Viktor is _the_ ice skating god. You know, they call him a living legend. Which's totally legitimate. I mean, he won, like, four or five World Championships in a row? And Grand Prix Finals too, if I'm not mistaken. Wait, were it five? Maybe even more, I don't know." 

Yuuri stared at Minako for a long moment, before his expression went from doubtful to confused to downright thunderstruck. 

"He's - What?" Yuuri croaked, blinking his eyes rapidly at Minako. 

"Well, you can look up his biography on Wikipedia and everything. There's a whole list of his medal records and stuff. It's a pretty impressive list. A pretty long list as well. It's all like 'gold here' and 'gold there'. You gotta look it up some time." 

Yuuri kept on gaping at Minako as her words played on a loop in his brain. _Gold here, gold there_. But at the same time it seemed kind of too unlikely to be true. Because Viktor, _his_ Viktor, being a world famous figure skating star? A living legend even? It was, well, it was just wow. 

"Hey Yuuri, what's wrong? I thought you'd think of it as pretty cool," Minako said, her brows drawing together. "I mean, you're able to learn from the very bestest of the best. That's damned awesome, right?" 

"Uh, I think I gotta sit down for a moment." 

Yuuri stalked rather stiffly through the ballet studio to the nearest bench before he'd faint or something. Because, okay, he needed to take a deeeeeep breath and then try to wrap his mind around the fact that he, completely-lacking-any-talent Katsuki Yuuri, had been bothering a living legend with his poor skating skills for, like, way too long. Oh God, all this time he'd only been a hindrance to Viktor. He would've been able to roam the ice freely if it hadn't been for Yuuri imposing himself on him.

Well, that was one hell of a realization. But he was fine, he was totally, absolutely fine. 

Minako crossed the studio as well, crouching down in front of him and placing a gentle hand on his knee. "C'mon Yuuri, what's wrong? Did I say something wrong? Are you alright?" 

"Actually," he said slowly, "I wonder whether it's likely to have a heart attack at my age or not."


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiya guys, have some angst as an early Christmas present!
> 
> Oh, and let me thank all of you for your continued support, your lovely comments and kudos. They literally make my day! So thank you sososososososo much, I love all of you! x3

_"That kid only looks after number one. If he says that he's done with skating, then that's fine by me. … I'm tired of dealing with his whims." - Yakov Feltsman, former coach of Viktor Nikiforov_

_"Finals without him are boring. I mean, how long have we been competing against each other? With Viktor gone, maybe it's time I retired myself." - Christophe Giacometti, Swiss Grand Prix finalist_

_"Viktor's stupid. He's always been. If he wants to quit at the peak of his career, who cares? I'm better than him anyway." - Yuri Plisetsky, former rink mate of Viktor Nikiforov_

_"With Viktor gone, I'll finally take his place on the podium. I mean, who wants to see the same old relic win all the time? It had already started to get boring." - Jean-Jacques Leroy, Canadian Grand Prix finalist_

Yuuri rubbed a hand over his eyes, the screen of his phone too bright in the dark room, as he scrolled down to read the rest of the article. 

_The news of five time consecutive world champion Viktor Nikiforov retiring from the skating scene caused an uproar without parallels. His only comment, that it was time for him to call it quits, left thousands of fans heartbroken. Some even went so far as to say that without Viktor, following the news of the skating world was pointless._

_But what caused the idol of the public to bow out of the world of competitive skating? As his coach and the skater himself wouldn't take a stand on the question, one can only speculate._

_"This year's season was my last, and I'm very grateful to be able to end it with a gold medal." - Viktor Nikiforov_

_Viktor Nikiforov reigned the skating scene for the past couple of years, earning himself the title of a living legend. His success story began when -_

Yuuri let his phone slip from his hand to fall onto the bed. Then he brought his hands up to rub at his tired eyes. He knew when Viktor's success story began. He probably knew all turns in his career as a professional figure skater by heart by now. After all, he'd read about every article that had popped up when he'd searched 'Viktor Nikiforov', every tidbit of information that the internet would provide him with. Even though Viktor had already retired from the skating scene some years ago, there were still plenty enough articles and interviews.

Right now, Yuuri somehow felt like a stalker. 

After Minako had broken the news to him, everything had turned upside down. His stomach, for instance. When he'd plopped down onto the bench, feeling like his knees might give in at any moment, and his mind had started to spin impossibly fast, a sudden wave of nausea had welled up in his throat. He'd felt like he might throw up right then and there. Luckily he hadn't. Minako would've probably never forgiven him, if he'd thrown up all over her favorite blouse. 

After a moment of willing down the sickness that had been threatening to take over his body, he'd abruptly stood up, nearly knocking Minako over, who'd still been crouching in front of him. She'd looked startled, asking Yuuri once more to tell her what was wrong. Yuuri had only been able to choke out that he was feeling sick and that he needed to go home right away. Then he'd stormed out of the studio, leaving behind an utterly bewildered Minako. 

Now here he was, huddled up in bed after locking himself away in his room. He'd received a worried text from Minako later on but had chosen to ignore it. After all, what should he tell her? 

When he'd started to google Viktor, it had been around 11:30 pm. Now, glancing at the clock on the bedside table, it was 03:21 am. Yuuri heaved a long sigh as he sat up to lean against the headboard of his bed. He should go to sleep. He really should. He _knew_ he should. But he also knew that he was way too stirred up to find any rest right now. 

Yuuri rested his head against the headboard to stare up at the ceiling. Even though he'd read about it for hours, Viktor being a world famous skating god still seemed too unlikely to be true. Not that Yuuri doubted his talent or anything. That was the last thing Yuuri'd doubt. It was just... How would the most decorated and most popular skater of the past couple of years end up skating at a small, insignificant rink like Hasetsu Ice Castle? And why would he take interest in teaching an inept amateur like Yuuri how to skate? It didn't make sense, it just didn't make any sense to him. 

Maybe Viktor had gotten bored at some point in those years after his retirement? Maybe he'd thought of teaching Yuuri as a challenge? But then again, why would he burden himself with someone as untalented as Yuuri? He just couldn't imagine that it was any fun to have to look after a guy who struggled not to fall on his ass all while you could be off skating breathtaking performances. But even if Viktor had thought of it as a challenge, why would he stick to it for so long? It wasn't like Yuuri had turned into some kind of skating pro during the time of their practice. He was still far from the level Viktor must be used to when it came to skating with others. Wait. What if he hadn't wanted to stick to it for so long, but couldn't call it quits since Yuuri had been so persistent? Basically imposing himself on Viktor? Shit. 

Yuuri swallowed thickly. If he gave it a second thought, that option seemed more than likely. He remembered all those days of shared skating where he'd basically been itching to step onto the ice alongside Viktor. He hadn't even given him the chance of skating alone, he'd always put on his skates right away, leaving no time or space for any protests.

Yuuri closed his eyes as he took a deep calming breath. How could he have been such an insensitive egoist? 

Well, he actually knew how. He'd so desperately wanted to be close to Viktor that he'd thrown all remaining reservations about ice skating to the wind and had bravely put on his skates day after day after day. Every single day, even though the bruises on his feet had started to progress through a rainbow of red, blue, purple, green and yellow shades. Even though he would’ve had to grit his teeth every time he put on his skates, his feet screaming in pain. But he'd ignored it, biting his lower lip and taking deep breaths, not letting any of it show on his face. He'd wanted to be with Viktor, at all costs, and if this meant that he had to skate until his feet would bleed, then that was the price he had been willing to pay. Or so he'd thought. 

Because at some point Yuuri had realized that there wasn't any price to be paid if he wanted to be close to Viktor. Viktor just let him.

At some point, Viktor had started to notice when Yuuri was pushing himself too hard and trying to mask it afterwards. So, some days he would've just come over to the counter to talk to Yuuri for hours, even after closing time. Viktor wouldn't have let him push himself to his limits from then on. He wouldn't coax him any further than he could go, he just met him where he was. It had taken Yuuri quite some time to come to that realization, but when it had finally struck him, it had filled him with awe and joy and relief. Viktor didn't want him to be anyone else, he just accepted him how he was. Or so he'd thought. 

Maybe Viktor missed the fame and glory. Maybe he'd made Yuuri his pet project to get it back. The former world champion training an inexperienced amateur to climb to the top of the world. A zero to hero story. It'd sell itself. Who could know? After all, Yuuri had read interviews that had shed a pretty poor light on Viktor. Hell, even his coach described him as a self-centered man. He could sure as hell be wronging Viktor, but his coach had known him for years, Yuuri for weeks. 

He winced at the thoughts clouding his mind. Those scenarios made his heart sink with sadness. With every single one of those dreadful thoughts sneaking their way into his brain, it felt like an invisible weight was crushing his heart bit by bit, leaving it broken into a million of pieces which Yuuri would never manage to put back together the way they used to fit. So he didn't allow himself to believe in those scenarios. They surely weren't true. They _couldn't_ be true. After all, the Viktor described by others in those articles didn't seem like the Viktor Yuuri had come to know. 

The Viktor in those interviews he'd watched had looked extremely tired, his usually glittering blue eyes grey and expressionless. _His_ Viktor, on the other hand, was overflowing with energy, his beautiful eyes a pool of expressions and emotions. The Viktor from the videos had seemed restrained, his every word carefully considered. _His_ Viktor acted as if there wasn't a single thing in this world to worry about, his words sometimes leaving his beautiful lips before his brain had fully progressed their actual meaning. (Yuuri’s favorite part about it was that it made Viktor blush afterwards, apologizing for saying stupid things.)

His Viktor was cooing over Makkachin in that silly high pitched voice; his Viktor would sometimes curse loudly in Russian and not even notice the switch in language; his Viktor sometimes turned into a giggling mess up to the point of downright snorting with laughter. Yuuri loved every facet of him, discovering more and more with every single day they spent together. It was like watching the pieces of a puzzle starting to fit together, bit by bit, already knowing that the final result would be a masterpiece. It was just that Yuuri hadn't known that the puzzle had been missing a huge, very important piece. 

So, Yuuri came to the conclusion that he was being ridiculous, oh so ridiculous. And all this jumping to wild conclusions. Ludicrous, unbiased, wild conclusions. It was just, plain and simple, ridiculous. But panicking had always been something that his stupid brain had been all too happy to do, and holing up in his room was something Yuuri - sadly - was incredibly good at.

Yuuri sighed deeply as he let his eyes fall shut, trying to force the whirlwind of thoughts inside his head to come to a halt. He would talk to Viktor about it. Sometime. Now, he'd stop thinking about it or else he'd feel even more miserable than he already felt. But to be honest, the main reason for finding himself in this state of dejection weren’t those gruesome thoughts about being Viktor's distraction or pet project. Sure, they made up for a huge part of it, but they weren't the main cause. 

Truth be told, Yuuri felt betrayed. Yeah, somehow betrayed by Viktor even though he knew that it was ridiculous. After all, what should've Viktor told him? _Oh Yuuri, by the way, I'm a living legend, five time consecutive world champion, just in case you didn't know_. Yeah, right. 

But still, Yuuri couldn't help that distinct feeling of hurt and betrayal causing his chest to feel tight, too tight to breathe. He'd opened himself up to Viktor, feeling like he could tell him everything, _wanted_ to tell him everything. But the problem was that he'd apparently wanted Viktor to do the same. Tell Yuuri everything about himself. Which he, obviously, hadn't. And it hurt. It hurt to know that Yuuri wasn't someone who Viktor felt like telling everything.

Because Yuuri loved to listen to Viktor, hearing his mellow voice rising and falling with every single word, and Yuuri felt like he could listen to it forever. He'd wanted to hear every secret spilled by that voice, every memory, every experience. But now Yuuri realized that he'd been asking for too much. 

After all, Viktor wasn't obligated to tell him anything. He could keep all the secrets in the world from Yuuri if he wanted to. He could even lie to him in order to keep those secrets if he wanted to. Viktor could tell him whatever he pleased, and Yuuri couldn't be mad at him. Because Yuuri was in no position to let himself think that he was allowed to know everything about Viktor. He knew that, he was actually painfully aware of it right now. But why, why had he indulged in the illusion that he maybe was in that position then? That the relationship between Viktor and him had turned into something that allowed him to believe so? 

Those thoughts made both his head and heart ache. 

Yuuri rolled his head to the side, staring at the clock on the bedside table. 04:07 am. The night was almost over, and Yuuri hadn't even had a nap yet. God, he was pathetic. 

He threw the blanket aside and slowly stood up, stretching and feeling his spine pop pleasantly. So, if he wasn't going to sleep anyway, he'd just make it a super early morning. And what better way was there to start a day than soaking in the hot spring and forgetting about the thoughts, about those thoughts spinning around that one single person, that haunted him and deprived him of his sleep?


	10. Chapter 10

In retrospect, starting the day by soaking in the hot spring had been a horrible idea. 

When Yuuri had slipped into the hot water, he'd finally been able to relax to the point of putting his mind at ease. And before he'd known, his eyes had already fallen shut, and his head had tipped back to rest against the cold stone. 

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but when he'd blinked his eyes open again, he'd had a mighty headache. His ears and nose had been freezing cold from the sharp night air and the rest of his body had felt as if it was on fire, the hot water burning unpleasantly on his skin. He’d felt dizzy, and as he'd tried to stand up and get out of the water, his head had started to spin, the water in front of him seeming as if it was tipping to the side. Yuuri had needed to grab for the stone behind him in order to keep himself upright. 

Well, and that's exactly why you shouldn't fall asleep in the hot spring. Especially not in winter when there was a maximum temperature difference between air and water. It just didn't work well for your body. 

But his stupid body was just unreliable anyway. When he was supposed to sleep, he couldn't, and when he _wasn't_ supposed to sleep, he just drifted off. He definitely had to work on that one. 

Though after having breakfast and taking some painkillers for his headache, he'd felt relatively okay. Actually, okay enough to think that he was pretty fine and could go to the ice rink without taking any medicine or stuff with him. Which had turned out as a big mistake. Because only some hours into his work, the headache had returned, even more vicious than before, a constant pain throbbing away at the back of his head. And if this wasn't bad enough, he'd also started coughing now and then which only increased the throbbing in his head. God, today (including the night before) was probably the worst day of his entire life. And it would get even worse. 

Because every-fucking-thing seemed to go wrong, _not_ including the facts of him being on the verge of getting sick (or already being sick, but who cared at that point anyway?) and only getting two hours of fitful sleep. No, what pissed him off was needing to put up with annoyed teenagers who didn't care about the deposit needed to rent skates; who didn't care about the fact that they were _not_ allowed to climb over the rink-boards (for fuck's sake, there were fucking exits, they just needed to walk, like, five meters to get to the next one); who acted like the best-informed skating pros and treated him like he was some idiot because hey, he was just the guy standing behind the counter and surely wasn't able to distinguish figure skates from hockey skates. God, the list of things ticking him off just seemed endless today. 

But all of this wouldn't have been half as bad if a) his head hadn't felt like it was constantly being stabbed, and b) he hadn't been all too aware of the fact that he would have to face Viktor later that day. Which he would like to avoid, at least for now. To be honest, in this frenzy of feeling like shit and dealing with adolescent punks, he hadn't been able to properly think about how he should address the topic. _Hey, I've heard that you're a skating legend, and now I'm curious as to how you managed to miss telling me something important like that_ sounded like a pretty bad idea. 

Yuuri heaved a sigh, lowering his head to rest his forehead against the cool surface of the counter. Today was one of those days where he should have stayed in bed, really. 

The later it got, the more the rink started to clear out, and Yuuri got quite twitchy as the time when Viktor usually arrived crept closer and closer. He knew talking to Viktor was inevitable, but still, did it have to be today of all days? After all, there'd still be tomorrow and the day after tomorrow and the day after that day... It wasn't like he was in the best condition to have such a serious talk anyway. He felt like crap, and all he wanted to do was crawl under his blanket and shut the rest of the world out.

Coming to think of it, it wasn't too late to scram. He'd just tell Yuuko that he wasn't feeling well and that he would call it an early day. Then he'd be off, not needing to face Viktor just yet. He'd be able to think about the whole situation in peace once he got home, where he could carefully prepare the words he would use to address the issue. Yes, this sounded like a pretty good, most reasonable idea.

Yuuri threw the rink one last glance before he crossed the rental room to leave, door handle already in hand when he suddenly heard the main doors to the ice rink click open. He froze in place. Dammit, this could only be Viktor. Shit, what was he supposed to do now? If Yuuri opened the door right now, Viktor would surely hear him and ask himself why Yuuri would - 

"Eh, Yuuri, what are you doing over there?" Viktor's voice rang through the air, as melodic and beautiful as ever. 

Yuuri let a small sigh escape his lips. Oh well, he guessed that it was already too late for bolting. 

"What I'm doing? I'm doing nothing," Yuuri said as he turned around, forcing a nervous smile onto his face before making his way over to Viktor. 

Viktor was leaning on the counter, one elbow propped up to rest his chin on his hand, his perfect brows raised amusedly at Yuuri. "Indeed nothing. Just standing in front of the closed door and staring at it." 

"I was just...examining the door handle. You know, it looked kind of, uh, broken." 

Yuuri internally slapped himself for his words. Broken, really? If he came up with something shitty like that, he could just go on and tell Viktor that he'd been about to bolt. 

"Broken?" Viktor repeated, sounding even more amused than before. 

"Oh, shut up," Yuuri mumbled, not at all in the mood for friendly teasing. The throbbing at the back of his head had started to become more persistent again, and Yuuri had to keep himself from massaging his temples. God, he just wanted to be alone right now. 

"Yuuri, what's wrong?" 

Yuuri watched Viktor's brow furrow, and on any other day he would've thought of it as plain adorable, but today he just wished that Viktor hadn't asked and would mind his own business. 

"Nothing's _wrong_. I'm fine. I'm absolutely fine." The words turned out huffier than intended, but Viktor didn't get the hint of Yuuri not wanting to talk about it anyway. 

"But you look exhausted and slightly pale. Didn't you sleep last night? Are you getting sick? Is there anything I could do for you or get you?" Viktor asked softly, his eyes searching Yuuri's for answers. 

God, this wasn't fair. How could Viktor read him like an open book, even though Yuuri didn't want him to do so? How could he expect Yuuri to open up to him and tell him what was bothering him, if he himself hadn't told Yuuri a single thing about himself, about his past, keeping it all to himself like some kind of big, giant secret? Why was he acting so caring, if he didn't care enough about Yuuri to let him in, to let him know about his secrets? 

Yuuri realized that he didn't understand the man in front of him, the man he’d spent so much time with in those past weeks, the man he'd been thinking about every day and every night ever since he'd first laid his eyes on him.

Yuuri closed his eyes for a brief moment, the pain at the back of his head angrily throbbing away. When he reopened his eyes, he turned to stare at the counter, anything to avoid Viktor's eyes. 

"Like I told you, I'm fine. But anyway, what're you still doing here? You should be off skating," Yuuri mumbled. God, this fucking headache was killing him. 

"If you're not going to skate, then I'll stay right here with you." 

No. No, no, no, no, no. That's exactly _not_ what he wanted Viktor to do. He should be off, claiming the ice as his like he was supposed to do, and not binding himself to the hindrance which was Katsuki Yuuri. He should be able to live his passion, and not restrain himself in order to keep Yuuri company. 

At Yuuri’s silence, Viktor went on, "It's not like I - " 

"Just go!" Yuuri snapped, the words echoing too loudly in the otherwise quiet hall. "Just go skating, the ice is where you belong, and I'll stay right here behind my counter where I belong." 

There was a dreadful beat of silence with Viktor just staring at Yuuri, his eyes wide and confused, his brows drawing together. 

"Yuuri, what are you talking about? That's not - " 

"True? Oh yeah it is, you and I, we both know it. So, just go skating. I'll stay right here, watching you just like I used to do." 

All of the bitterness and frustration from last night and today poured into those words, and Yuuri immediately regretted speaking them. That’s not what he’d wanted to say, those words basically dripping with self-pity. He hadn’t wanted to show himself so vulnerable. He didn't want to be vulnerable in front of Viktor. He wanted to show Viktor that he was strong and able to keep up with him, that he was worth Viktor's time. But those stupid emotions gnawing away at his heart only let him show this horrible side to Viktor. This horrible, weak side. 

He watched Viktor opening his mouth in protest, but Yuuri was faster than him. 

"Go. Just go," he said, his tone of voice not allowing any protests. Then he added in a much softer voice, almost inaudible, "Please, I want you to." 

Yuuri watched Viktor's jaw set as he pushed himself off the counter, fixing Yuuri with an expression which might have been a mixture of sadness, anger and hurt. 

"If that's what you want me to do," he said, his words surprisingly calm despite his facial expression. Then he stalked away from the skate rental to find himself a bench to sit down and put his skates on. 

_Oh_ , Yuuri thought, _I'm such an asshole._

Actually, all he wanted Viktor to do was stay close to him and never leave him. Tell him that there was nothing to worry about, that he shouldn't torture himself with cruel thoughts and unnecessary anxiety. But apparently, all he could do was push Viktor even further away from him, as if it would save him the pain of letting Viktor too close, only to find out that he didn't care about Yuuri anyway. 

Viktor reappeared at the rink-boards, his eyes constantly trained on the ground as he stepped onto the ice, skating and coming to a halt in the middle of the ice rink. It was very much like the first time when Yuuri had watched Viktor skate. That very first time it had seemed as if the ice had come to life with Viktor's magic, Viktor had cast his spell over Yuuri without realizing it. But now, it felt like this spell was crushing Yuuri, the magic slowly crumbling away to reveal the ice's true nature once again. It’s magicless, unyielding, cold, hard nature. 

Viktor started moving then, his movements as fluid and beautiful as ever. That's what Viktor hadn't been able to do all this time, skating breathtaking performances, skating on the level he was used to. Yuuri wondered what kind of routine he was skating. Maybe one from his last Grand Prix? Or his last World Championship? Or something entirely new, created in the years after his retirement? Well, who knew?

Yuuri watched Viktor with sad eyes. He already regretted his words from earlier deeply. Though it had probably been the headache and the lack of sleep which had caused him to say bitter things like that, it still wasn't any excuse for snapping at Viktor, who had just been worried about him. But watching Viktor like this, he seemed pretty unaffected by Yuuri's inconsiderate words. He was all the professional Yuuri had read about the whole night. He didn’t falter a single time, he even readied himself for his first jump, pushing off the ice in one powerful movement and - 

Yuuri's heart seemed to stop beating as he heard the loud bang echo through the ice rink. The tip of Viktor’s skate had caught in the ice, bringing him down in a harsh crash that made Yuuri's chest too tight to breathe. Before he knew, he'd already climbed over the counter and was now sliding with his sneakers over the ice, nearly slipping himself in the process. 

"Oh my God, Viktor, are you alright?" he asked as he crouched down next to him, the words leaving his mouth in one panicked rush. He touched Viktor's shoulder to help him sit up, but Viktor was already moving on his own.

He sat up with a small groan, examining his hands which had caught the fall. Yuuri took both of them in his own, relief washing over him as he saw that they weren't scraped, just showing off an angry red caused by the impact of the fall. 

"I'm fine," Viktor said, letting Yuuri take care of him. "I was just...out of it. But man, I'm stupid, really. I don't know what I've been thinking, my mind was entirely somewhere else, but I still... Well, you saw what happened. But I gotta admit it's been years since I last failed a jump. I almost forgot how much it hurt." 

Viktor huffed out a laugh, clearly trying to play it off. But Yuuri just clutched his hands tighter, bowing his head to rest his forehead against them. They felt cold and slightly damp from the ice. 

"Yuuri?" Viktor asked, his voice insecure and barely above a whisper. 

"I'm sorry Viktor," Yuuri said, not lifting his head off his hands. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I'm just stupid and so out of it today, and I shouldn't have let the bad day and headache get the better of me. I'm sorry for being unreasonable and stupid and for acting like an asshole, and it's my fault that you fell because I told you to go and - " 

"Hey, Yuuri, hey, it's alright,” Viktor interrupted him, his voice low and soothing. “Don't worry, I'm fine. And we all have our bad days, and I just shouldn't have pushed you when I noticed that you didn't want to talk. I’m sorry." 

Viktor turned his hands to take a hold of Yuuri's, giving them a reassuring squeeze. Yuuri lifted his head then, and he was met with soft blue eyes and an astounding little smile. Oh, it made Yuuri's heart swell, and his eyes starting to prickle with the beginnings of tears. But he quickly blinked them away. Hell, he wouldn’t start crying now and ruin the moment.

He broke into a relieved smile of his own before bringing Viktor's hands up to place small kisses on his knuckles. This got him a happy, little laugh from Viktor, and Yuuri just couldn't believe how he could've been losing his faith in this utterly beautiful, amazing man. 

Viktor surely had his reasons for not telling Yuuri everything just yet. And if Yuuri looked into Viktor’s impossibly gentle eyes, then maybe it wasn't because Viktor didn't care enough about Yuuri to tell him everything. Maybe it was because he cared _too much_ about him. In order to find it out, Yuuri would talk to Viktor. He wouldn’t wrack his brain about it, he’d just talk to Viktor and listen to what he got to tell him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, this turned out hella angstier than intended. Seriously, I was already planning fluff for the end of this chapter, but BAM angst happened. BUT the following chapters are going to be a lot fluffier, I swear!! So, yeah..... *nervous laughter before disappearing under a table*


	11. Chapter 11

Yuuri didn't understand how this was his life. No, seriously. Now that he'd finally mustered up the courage to talk to Viktor about this whole being a living legend thing, he couldn't. And if he said that he couldn't talk, he meant that quite literally. 

After waking up this morning, his voice pretty much failing him had been the first indication for him being sick for real now. He was lying in bed with a throbbing head, a light fever and a cough that made his whole body shake with its force, his throat sore and aching. Though his voice was partly back by now, the words leaving his mouth sounded raspy around the edges, his tone of voice deeper than usual. He didn't sound like himself at all. So it didn't surprise him that when he called Yuuko, she didn't recognize him at first. 

"Hey Yu-chan, it's me," he rasped into his phone. 

There was a short beat of silence on the other end before Yuuko finally said, "Oh my God, Yuuri, is that you? God, you sound horrible! What did you do, gargle with nails?" 

"As funny as always, Yu-chan. No, actually I'm pretty sick, and I wanted to let you know that I won't be able to help you out the next couple of days. I'm sorry, Yu-chan," he finished just before a coughing fit shook his body. 

"Holy shit, Yuuri! You sound like death itself. You better stay in bed and get well soon! Because if you won't, I'll tell Viktor every single embarrassing story about you that's still buried in the deepest corners of my mind!" 

"Err, Yu-chan, you know that blackmailing me into getting well doesn't work. I mean, physically." 

There was a silence on the other end of the line for a short moment, making Yuuri raise his brows in expectation though he knew that Yuuko wasn't able to see it anyway. 

"Uh, you sure? I mean, it could make you feel so miserable _psychically_ that you'd forget about your miserable _physical_ state, right?" 

"Yu-chan, both you and your humor are horrible, just horrible." 

"Oh stop it, you old flatterer you. I'm already blushing." 

Yuuri rolled his eyes at Yuuko's words even though they made his lips curl up into a smile. 

"I don't know why I'm still talking to you, really. It’d be much smarter to rest my voice instead of trying to have a normal conversation with you," he said, enjoying the mutual teasing. It made him feel better for some reason, even though it was just a teeny tiny bit. 

"Ouch, just ouch," Yuuko said, her voice dripping with mock hurt. "I always knew that deep down you're a horrible person. Others may fall for your act Yuuri, but I've caught a glimpse at that dark, rotten soul of yours." 

Yuuri huffed out a laugh, but the sound caught in his sore throat and made him cough hard again. Ugh, being sick sucked. 

"Well," he mused after clearing his throat, "if that's the case, then you probably don't want someone as dark and rotten as me to help you out at the ice rink any longer, right?" 

"Oh, nicely played," Yuuko huffed, the grin – which Yuuri couldn't see – still clearly audible in her voice. "But you couldn't go a single day without visiting the rink anyway." 

"Oh, that's what you’re telling yourself." 

"If you think that's the truth, then I'm sorry to disillusion you. Because, well, just four words: _Your. Precious. Viktor. Darling._ " 

Yuuri opened his mouth in protest but closed it without saying anything. Truth be told, Yuuko was right. But he'd be damned, if he let her indulge in that knowledge. 

"Whatever. I'll call you once I'm feeling well enough to work again," he said, hoping that Yuuko wouldn't call him out on changing the topic. Gladly, she let it slip, though the snort of laughter on the other end of the line made it quite clear that she understood his hesitation and evasive words all too well. Dammit. 

"Yeah, yeah, my dear, sweet Yuuri," she purred. Yuuri could basically see her shit eating grin in front of his inner eye. But then she added, her tone of voice suddenly quite serious, "But make sure that you're feeling really well, not half assed well just so you can help me out as soon as possible again. Because, sadly, that's something you'd do. So, make sure that you sleep enough and get some good rest. Taking good care of yourself is the most important thing to do." 

"Yu-chan, I know how to take care of myself," Yuuri huffed amusedly. Though Yuuko's constant mothering could be quite annoying, he also appreciated her worrying about him and trying her best of cheering him up when he wasn't feeling well. Though her methods - being absolutely ridiculous paired with an ungodly amount of teasing - were quite dubious. 

"Yeah, yeah, that's what you keep telling yourself. But anyway, get well soon!" 

"Of course, thanks Yu-chan. Well then, see ya." 

Like this, he hung up, placing the phone on the bedside table. Well, what should he do now? He was feeling like he'd been hit by a bus, and the mere thought of getting up and leaving his bed seemed like a torture.

Strangely, the first thing that came to his mind was that he'd like to see Viktor. He thought that if he was able to see Viktor's brilliant smile and crinkling eyes, he'd probably feel better in an instant. If he was allowed to hear Viktor's voice calling his name or Viktor's beautiful laughter ringing in his ears, he was sure that he'd be as good as new in no time. But as Viktor wasn't here, he knew that getting up to find himself some cough medicine and painkillers was the more realistic option of getting well soon. 

After some moments of inwardly debating whether it was worth the effort or not, he let a small sigh escape his lips. Okay, he'd get up, take the medicine and go right back to sleep. After all, he felt like he couldn't manage anything but sleeping today anyway.

\------

Yuuri had spent the whole day with alternating between his bed and the couch. He would sleep most of the time, but would also leave his room for distraction such as watching TV. Now and then, his mother or sister would check up on him, asking him if they could get him something, but he always told them not to worry about him. After all, they were busy with cooking and taking care of the customers. He didn't want to make things any more complicated for them than strictly necessary.

Though the medicine had kicked in and he was feeling somewhat better now, it still wasn't enough to make him say that he felt alright. He couldn't really concentrate on anything as the light fever made his head feel heavy and his brain fogged over with fatigue. So the only things he'd do (next to sleeping) were letting the sounds of the TV wash over him without actively watching anything or scrolling through some random Instagram pages, just watching the pictures flicker over the screen. He wasn't really content with this way of the day just passing by, but he couldn't really change anything about it either. After all, no one had ever said that being sick was any fun. 

He was staring at the bright screen of his phone, not knowing what to do with himself, when he suddenly heard a soft knock on his door. As he sat up against the headboard, he rasped out a "Yeah?". But his voice was barely audible as he hadn't used it in quite some time, so he cleared his throat before repeating the word, louder than before. 

The door opened with a soft creak, and Yuuri already expected his mother's or Mari's head to appear, but instead he was met with the sight of a brown furball enthusiastically making its way over to his bed to greet him with a happy bark. 

"Hey Makkachin," he smiled as he started to scratch the dog behind his ears, earning himself another bark and a happy lick all over his hand. 

The next thing to appear in the door was a large bouquet followed by Viktor's head poking around the door. 

"Hey Yuuri, may I come in?" Viktor asked almost shyly. 

"Of course," Yuuri laughed, the sound sounding more like coughing than actually laughing. But the broad smile curling his lips probably made it quite clear that he was more than happy to see Viktor. 

Viktor shut the door behind him, crossing the room to come to stand next to Yuuri's bed. He stood kind of awkwardly, twisting the bouquet in his hands. Yuuri's smile turned amused around the edges as he patted the blanket, indicating Viktor to sit down. 

"I'm sorry to ambush you like this," Viktor said as he sat down, "but I was pretty worried when I heard from Yuuko that you were sick. Because you already seemed kind of sick yesterday, and when Yuuko said that you sounded like death itself, I got even more worried and, uh, yeah. Now I'm here. How are you?" 

Viktor finished, biting his lower lip, his brow furrowing adorably. God, seeing Viktor all flustered and worried about him made Yuuri's heart flutter and his lips curl up into a happy smile. He was so glad that Viktor had come to visit him, seriously. He felt like Viktor's company was exactly what he needed right now. 

"Well, now that you're here I'm fine," Yuuri grinned. He watched Viktor blush at his words, his mouth hanging slightly open. Yuuri's grin turned even wider because seeing Viktor like this put some life back into his exhausted body, and Yuuri realized that his words weren't even a lie. Viktor's mere presence already made him feel way better. 

"Are those flowers for me?" Yuuri asked as Viktor just kept on staring at him with his lips slightly parted. 

"Oh yeah, o-of course!" Viktor hurried to say then, seeming as if he'd almost completely forgotten about the bouquet in his hands. It was a beautiful bouquet of light green roses dotted with small white flowers, their stalks tied together with a white ribbon. Viktor offered the flowers to Yuuri then, and Yuuri took them with a happy smile, bringing the roses up to his nose to inhale their sweet scent. 

"Y-You see, I didn't know what kind of flowers you would like, so I asked the lady in the flower shop what she would recommend as a 'get well soon' gift. And you see, she said that green roses were a symbol of growth and fertility and thus of good health. S-So I figured it fit the occasion quite well. Uhm, I hope you like them," Viktor finished almost sheepishly, his eyes darting between the flowers and Yuuri's eyes, searching them for a reaction. 

Yuuri couldn't believe the man in front of him. Though it was already relatively late, Viktor had bothered to go to a flower shop to get him flowers. But not any kind of flowers. No, he'd even gotten himself a lecture in flower language just to find the perfect bouquet for Yuuri. And he'd not only brought him flowers, he'd also taken Makkachin with him because he knew exactly just how much Yuuri liked the adorable poodle. The realization made Yuuri speechless and his heart swell with adoration for the man in front of him. 

"You don't like them," Viktor concluded as the silence stretched between them. 

"No, of course I like them! I love them, really! I was just a little overwhelmed right now, that's all," Yuuri said, feeling his cheeks slightly heat up. He'd get a vase for the flowers later, but for now he settled on setting them carefully aside on the bedside table. Then he reached for Viktor's hand, giving it a light squeeze as he said, "I'm really happy that you're here, Viktor. You know, it hasn't even been a day, but I already started missing you." 

"Y-Yuuri," Viktor breathed, his eyes wide for a short moment before they grew fond and just so incredibly soft that Yuuri felt like he could lose himself in them. Then Viktor laced their fingers together, staring down at their joined hands as he said, "You know, I'm actually quite relieved to hear so. Because after yesterday, I wasn't even sure whether you wanted to see me or not." 

"Oh God, I'm so sorry about yesterday, Viktor!" 

The memory of snapping at Viktor, the mixture of anger and hurt displaying on his face and seeing him crash down hard onto the ice made Yuuri's sore throat feel tight, and he felt like a coughing fit might shake him again at any moment. 

"I'm so sorry, really. It's unforgivable that I snapped at you just because I - " He was cut off by the feared coughing fit, making him bend over with its force. As he kept on coughing, he felt Viktor's free hand drawing soothing circles on his back, and he heard Makkachin whining, his big black eyes fixing Yuuri worriedly. After his breathing had turned back to being relatively normal, he rasped out a hoarse "Sorry", giving both Viktor and Makkachin an apologetic smile. 

"Oh Yuuri, it's alright. I'm the one who's sorry for making you talk that much. You should rest your voice before it's completely ruined," Viktor said, his eyes soft and caring. 

Talk that much? Oh, Yuuri should actually be talking much more, finally bringing up the topic which had been bothering him this whole time. But now that Viktor was looking at him like this, Yuuri found himself lacking the power of will to finally force those words out of his mouth. There'd surely be a better time to address the topic, a time when he actually had the voice to do it. 

"Now, I guess I'll find your mother to get a vase for your flowers," Viktor said as he got up from the bed. 

But Yuuri didn't let go of his hand, blurting, "Don't go!" 

Viktor's eyes turned wide at his words, and Yuuri immediately tried to take them back, "Ah, no, I-I mean - Uhm, I didn't - " 

"It's alright, Yuuri," Viktor said as he sat down once more. He brought his free hand up to gently touch Yuuri's cheek before saying, "I'm not going anywhere. I'll stay right here with you." 

Yuuri felt himself blush, avoiding Viktor's eyes because they were so, so gentle that Yuuri feared he might drown in that impossible blue and never resurface again. 

"I'll stay right here with you, as long as you want me to."

The words were soft and barely above a whisper, but they managed to make his heart beat faster nevertheless.

“I-I’d like that,” he whispered just as softly, shooting Viktor a shy look. And he was met with one of the most dazzling smiles he’d ever seen in his life.

Well, he guessed he could forget about cough medicine and painkillers. Viktor’s smiles were the best medicine anyway.


	12. Chapter 12

Viktor was just the cutest, really. For some reason, he'd made it his task to nurse Yuuri back to health for the next couple of days. Thus, he'd somehow become Yuuri's personal nurse. 

Viktor stayed nearly the whole day with him. He'd come in the morning when Yuuri had been awake for one or two hours, three hours tops, and would only leave at night after he'd made sure that Yuuri was fast asleep. So Yuuri realized that Viktor had really meant it when he'd told him that he'd stay with Yuuri as long as Yuuri wanted him to (which was probably 24/7, but that would be kind of too much to ask for). And Yuuri enjoyed it to no end. He loved to have Viktor's undivided attention, to have him all to himself in a way which was far more intimate than when they were at the ice rink. He knew it was kind of selfish and ridiculous to want Viktor all to himself like that, but, hey, he was sick, so it was okay to act a little selfish and needy. 

Speaking of needy, whatever Yuuri would ask Viktor for, Viktor would fulfill his wishes without so much as batting an eyelash. Though Yuuri wasn't asking for much. If Viktor could get him a glass of water to sooth his aching throat, or if he could get him another blanket when he was feeling particularly cold. And Viktor always went off with that huge smile on his face, looking like an overly excited puppy or something. It was so adorable, it made Yuuri's heart flutter and warmth starting to pool in his stomach. 

Though now and then, Viktor was overdoing it just a teeny tiny bit. Like, every five minutes he'd ask Yuuri, if he was comfortable enough, if he should get him another pillow or blanket, if he should turn down the volume of the TV, if he should get him his medicine, if he wanted a wet cloth to cool his forehead etc. etc. etc. At some point, when Yuuri had suggested them moving from his bed to the couch to watch some TV, Viktor had even asked him whether he should carry him or if he felt okay enough to walk. After explaining to Viktor that he was just a little _sick_ and not on the verge of _dying_ , Viktor had worn that kicked puppy look, which had gotten Yuuri to sigh in surrender. So Viktor may or may not have carried him to the couch after all, but the point is, Viktor caring for him was great, really, but Viktor fussing over him just made him downright nervous. 

By the end of the week, Yuuri was almost as good as new though. So he probably didn't need Viktor looking after him any longer, but Viktor was still spending all day with him (which he didn't mind _at all_ ), and right now, they were lying together on Yuuri's bed, facing each other with Viktor gently casting his fingers through Yuuri's hair, Makkachin contently snoring on the floor next to Yuuri's bed. 

"Some days ago, you looked like death, but you're looking way better now, Yuuri," Viktor mumbled, his eyes soft and gentle. 

"Why, thanks for the compliment," Yuuri chuckled lowly, rolling his eyes amusedly at Viktor. 

"Ah, no, seriously. You looked so pale and had those huge bags under your eyes, and I was just so worried about my sweet Yuuri looking so exhausted and tired. So now I'm just glad that you're better, and that I can finally hear your laughter again without it ending in a coughing fit," Viktor smiled, his hand pausing for a moment to brush a loose strand out of Yuuri's face before picking up his rhythm again. 

"Oh, you sappy, old - " Yuuri started with a grin but was promptly cut off by a huge yawn which elicited a soft laugh from Viktor. Viktor's warm fingers steadily running through his hair and lightly massaging his scalp had made his eyes go heavy-lidded and a pleasant tiredness starting to fog his brain. Just lying with Viktor like this was so unbelievably soothing that Yuuri felt like he could drift off to sleep right away. 

"Oh, I think someone's tired," Viktor said amusedly, moving his hand from Yuuri's hair to run his fingertips gently over his cheek. 

"'m not tired," Yuuri mumbled as he let his eyes fall shut, "just closing my eyes for a sec, 'cause this feels real nice." 

"I'm glad I'm able to make you feel good," Viktor laughed softly, the warm rush of air tickling Yuuri's nose. 

"Of course. You're always making me feel good," Yuuri smiled into the pillow, greatly enjoying Viktor's caresses. 

"Oh, is that so?" 

Viktor's tone was playful, and as Yuuri cracked one eye open to look at him, one of his brows was raised amusedly, his lips curling into a little grin. Yuuri let his eyes fall shut again before mumbling, "Oh hush, you know what I mean. Now less talking, more caressing." 

Viktor gave a happy laugh at that, saying "Yessir!", before he pulled Yuuri into an embrace to stroke both his back and his cheek, and Yuuri felt utterly content with the arrangement. 

It didn't take long before Viktor's gentle touches had lulled him into a sweet slumber.

\------

When Yuuri woke up, he felt distinctly colder than when he'd fallen asleep in Viktor's arms. This might have been caused by the absence of those arms.

"Mhm, Viktor?" he asked sleepily as he rolled over, patting the empty space next to him, half expecting that he might find Viktor somewhere tucked away under the blanket. But the empty space and the rumpled sheets were indeed empty. 

Yuuri's brow furrowed in confusion as he sat up, his vision slightly blurred as his glasses were missing. Didn't he fall asleep with them still perched on his nose? He started to look around and promptly found them on the bedside table. Viktor must've taken them off for him, Yuuri thought with a little smile. He put them back on, and as everything started to focus, he found that the sheets were _still_ empty. 

Yuuri started to pout slightly, disappointed by the fact that Viktor had already left. Okay, _already_ wasn't quite right as Viktor had spent the whole day with him. But still, a couple of hours more wouldn't have hurt. 

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed as he wanted to get up and would've nearly stepped on Makkachin's tail as he did so. 

"Oh my God, Makkachin, I am so sorry!" Yuuri squeaked as he definitely hadn't expected to find the poodle still soundly asleep on the floor next to his bed. But Makkachin didn't even stir in his sleep, not having noticed the human nearly stepping on him at all.

Well. If Makkachin was still here, then apparently Viktor hadn't left after all. But where did he go? In order to find that out, he rose from the bed, carefully stepping over Makkachin, and started to search for Viktor. 

Maybe he'd gotten hungry and went to the kitchen? Or maybe he'd gotten bored of just lying around and had gone to the living room to watch some TV? When Yuuri padded down the hallway, still thinking about where Viktor was most likely to be found, he heard distant voices coming from the living room. So, watching TV in the living room after all? But the closer he got, the more obvious it became that those voices belonged to his mother and Viktor himself. 

When Yuuri finally reached the living room, he found his mother and Viktor sitting together on the couch, his mother showing Viktor something in the book he held. Yuuri narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the book. Wait a minute. This couldn't be a - 

"And that's our Yuuri when we tried to teach him how to ride a bike. You know, it was quite a lot of trouble. We just weren't able to convince him of getting on the bike because he said that he didn't need to learn how to ride it. After all, once he was a big boy, he said, he would know how to ride it anyway. It took us half an hour to explain to him that he wouldn’t just _know_ how to do it, but that he needed to learn it by practicing." 

\- photo album. Dammit. 

Viktor gave a happy laugh at his mother's elaborations of her son's childhood. 

"I can't believe just what a brat he used to be," Viktor chuckled, turning the page of the photo album. 

"Oh you should've seen him, when he was ten years old. That one time he - " 

"Mom, please!" Yuuri whined, finally entering the living room fully. Oh God, he didn't even want to know just how many stories his mother had already told Viktor. 

"Oh Yuuri! You should join us! Right now, I'm showing - " 

" - Viktor the photo album with the super embarrassing childhood pictures, yeah, I can see that." 

"They're not embarrassing, Yuuri," Viktor grinned slyly, barely able to smother his laughter, "they're important memories, and once nostalgia strikes, you'll be glad that you have them." 

"He's right, Yuuri," his mother said, nodding her head meaningfully. Yuuri, at the same time, was busy mouthing "Fuck you" at Viktor before groaning loudly at his mother's words. 

"Whatever!" he said as he eventually crossed the room to plop down onto the couch next to Viktor. He then threw a wary glance at the currently opened pages of the album. He cringed at the sight of the photos which showed him posing with a blanket thrown over his shoulders like a cape, a way too large Stetson on his head and a stick in one hand, raised like some sort of sword. Oh God, those photos were even worse than he remembered. 

As he tried to keep himself from blushing, he cleared his throat before asking, "What are you looking at those old photos anyway?" 

"Oh, I ran into Vicchan earlier, we had a nice talk, and then one thing led to the other, so now were sitting here looking through your photo album," his mother smiled broadly, before adding like an afterthought, "Oh, coming to think of it, I guess I've got another one somewhere. You boys just wait here, I'm going to look for it." 

Like this, his mother left the living room, leaving Viktor and him alone with the Photo Album of Shame. Yuuri turned to look at Viktor, his brows raised as he said, "My mother calls you Vicchan." 

"She likes me," Viktor said, his lips curling in a coy grin. 

"Yeah, that's why she's showing you this blackmail material," Yuuri huffed. Then he took the photo album from Viktor to flip through the pages, quickly deciding that yes, definitely blackmail material, before shutting it with a slight blush dusting his cheeks. 

"Oh Yuuri, don't be a killjoy," Viktor said teasingly, "I haven't even shown you my favorite photo yet." 

Viktor reopened the album, going through the pages before finding the photo in question. It showed Yuuri in a Spider-Man costume, laughing happily whilst dangling from his father's arm. Yuuri looked at the photo before looking at Viktor, who was smiling broadly at him, and then turned a deep shade of red. 

"Your mother told me that it was your favorite costume and that you wore it every day until it was basically falling apart. I think that's the cutest thing I've ever heard," Viktor grinned, his eyes glittering with mirth. 

"I hate you," Yuuri said as he buried his burning face in his hands. What had he done to deserve this kind of humiliation?

"Oh come on, imagining a small Yuuri running around the house in a Spider-Man costume is - " 

"Would you just shut up now?" he groaned as he placed his hand firmly over Viktor's mouth in order to keep him from saying even more embarrassing stuff. And he kept it there until he felt the slick swipe of Viktor's tongue along his fingers, making him jerk his hand back as if he’d been burnt. He gaped at Viktor with his cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red but was only met with a playful look through impossibly long lashes. The kind of look that made his pulse race and his mouth go dry. 

And that was the moment his mother chose to reappear in the living room, another photo album tugged under her arm. 

"I found it!" she said brightly, plopping down onto the couch. "So, let's - " 

"Actually," Yuuri interrupted her, tearing his eyes away from Viktor's look now that whatever tension had lingered between them was gone, "we were just about to go for a walk with Makkachin."

"Were we?" Viktor asked, seemingly enjoying Yuuri’s flustered state caused by the appearance of another Photo Album of Shame. Amusedly, he watched Yuuri rise from the couch, but let himself being pulled to his feet anyway. 

"Yes, we were," Yuuri said, trying to will down his still lingering blush. Anything to get away from those damned photo albums. After all, maybe there was still a teeny tiny bit of his dignity left which would be worth saving.

"Sorry, Mom. We'll be back later!" 

Like this, he was about to exit the living room, dragging Viktor along with him, who was pressing a hand to his mouth to stifle his laughter. But then his mother called after them, "No problem, we'll just look through this one when you’re back!" 

Once they were in the hallway, only Yuuri's cursing and Viktor's laughter could be heard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, I’m sorry, but this is just utterly self-indulgent and shameless fluff, even though I know that you’re expecting the serious talk. _But_ I’m planning the serious talk for the next chapter or the chapter after that at the latest! So, yeah, hang on ^^'


	13. Chapter 13

Fresh snow was crunching under their feet as they were following Makkachin in his wake through the streets of Hasetsu. It was already dark, and the soft glow of the streetlights made the snow glitter like diamond dust. It was quite the picture. 

Earlier the day, when Yuuri had arrived at Viktor's home, it had started to snow, and they had been all excited about going for a walk with Makkachin once it would stop snowing. So here they were, all bundled up, scarves, hats and several layers of clothes keeping them warm. 

"Do you know what I like best about fresh fallen snow?" Yuuri asked, shooting Viktor a look. 

Viktor made a quizzical noise as he kept on watching Makkachin romp around in the snow. Like this, he didn't see the mischievous little smile starting to curl Yuuri's lips. 

"Well." Yuuri bent down to scoop up a handful of snow, feeling the cold even through his glove. "This." 

And before he could even react to Yuuri's vague words, Viktor already found his face full of snow. 

"Yuuri, wha- " he gasped, sending the snow clinging to his lashes flying as he blinked his eyes rapidly at Yuuri, obviously completely caught off guard by Yuuri's ambush. 

"My sister and I used to do this all the time. For example, all of our snowball fights ended with us basically burying the other under the snow and returning home pretty much soaked," Yuuri grinned broadly, giving Viktor his most innocent smile. 

"But that doesn't mean you should do it with _me_ ," Viktor whined, gingerly brushing the snow out of his face, "'cause this is so cold, oh my God, my nose feels like it might fall off at any moment." 

Yuuri watched Viktor rubbing his red nose, which only made it turn even redder. The small pout he was wearing whilst doing so made Yuuri's smile turn even wider until he was chuckling lowly at the picture. God, Viktor could be so cute, so impossibly, impossibly cute. 

Viktor narrowed his eyes at him then, before saying, "If I were you, I wouldn't be laughing but running right now. You see, I grew up in _Russia_ , so snowball fight is my middle name." 

Like this, Viktor bent down, a grin of his own now curling his lips, and started to form a huge snowball, shooting Yuuri a challenging look. At first, Yuuri was just staring back at Viktor before he realized that maybe it would be wise to listen to Viktor and start running. As he made a break for the nearest parking car, a startled squeak escaped him as he heard the snowball zip past his ear, missing him by a whisker. He then took cover behind the car, starting to form snowballs of his own. 

And that's how a snowball fight of epic proportions erupted between them, turning the entire street into their battle ground. Makkachin was jumping between them, happily barking as he chased the snowballs flying through the air. Apparently, he enjoyed his humans throwing balls made out of snow at each other immensely. 

It was a battle characterized by high losses, both Yuuri and Viktor taking several blows. But in the end, Yuuri gave up, tasting defeat which was basically the snow rubbed in his face, tasting primarily cold, like, very cold. 

"Please, have mercy on me!" he said overly dramatically, half begging half laughing as he felt the melting snow starting to trickle down his neck, "I'll never again dare start a snowball fight against you!" 

Viktor was grinning smugly as he said, "This time, I will have mercy on you, young Yuuri. But remember that you're facing the King of Snow and Ice the next time you want to try anything funny." 

"Sir, yes Sir!" Yuuri called out, a broad grin starting to curl his lips. He felt his heart swell with adoration for the man in front of him, who was still grinning smugly, his eyes glittering with mischievous mirth. 

"But, you know," Yuuri said then, wiping away the melting snow which had turned his skin freezing cold, "I think we should go home now. Or else I might freeze to death right here and now." 

"Yeah," Viktor said, brushing his bangs out of his face which were wetted from the snow. "I'll make us tea or hot chocolate once we're back home." 

Yuuri let a moan escape his lips at the mere prospect of hot liquid which would soon enough be warming him up from the inside. "You know, right now I'd _kill_ for a hot chocolate."

\------

"Ooooh, this is great," Yuuri sighed, a mug of hot chocolate warming his hands.

They were sitting on the couch in Viktor's living room, huddled up under a mountain of pillows and blankets. To Yuuri it felt very much like heaven. 

"Well, it would've been even better, if I still had some of these mini marshmallows," Viktor mused, sipping his own hot chocolate. 

"Nah, it's perfect like this," Yuuri grinned into his mug. "This is exactly what a hot chocolate is supposed to taste like." 

"I'm glad to hear so," Viktor laughed warmly, a dazzling smile gracing his features. "So, what do you wanna do now? We could watch a movie or something." 

"Actually," Yuuri said, biting his lower lip, "I'd like to play a game." 

"Oho, and that would be...?" Viktor asked expectantly, raising his brows amusedly at Yuuri. 

"Come on, don't look at me like that. Just get us some post it notes and two pens, and then I'll tell you." 

Viktor got up with an amused "Yessir!", setting his mug aside on the glass table before getting the things Yuuri had asked him for. As Yuuri watched Viktor go, he started to worry his lower lip, his brows drawing slightly together. He'd been thinking about this for a while now. About the best way to ask Viktor about his past, about why he hadn't told him. But no matter how Yuuri had looked at it, he just hadn’t been able to imagine himself being able to address the topic directly. Like any grown up would do. It was fairly embarrassing, but whenever Yuuri had tried to bring it up, Viktor had just needed to look him in the eye to wipe his mind blank and make the carefully prepared words die on his lips. 

So he'd come up with this silly idea, and Yuuri could only hope that things would work out the way he'd planned them to. 

"So," Viktor said as he returned to the living room, crawling back under the blankets and setting two pens and post it notes on top of a pillow, "I'm all ears." 

"Well, I guess you know the game ‘Who am I?’, right?" Yuuri said as he shifted to face Viktor properly. Viktor did the same so that they were now sitting opposite each other on the couch. 

"Ah, yeah, but it's been years since I last played it. That's the game where you write a person's name on the note and then stick it to the other player's forehead, right?" 

"Exactly," Yuuri nodded, handing Viktor a pen and a note. "All you need to do is come up with a historical, fictional, famous or whatever figure. Then I'll need to guess the name by asking you questions about that figure. You're only allowed to ask questions which can be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’, and you're allowed to keep asking as long as the answer to your question is ‘yes’. Once you get ‘no’ as an answer, it's my turn." 

"Okay, that's fairly simple," Viktor laughed before starting to tap the pen at his lower lip, "though I have a feeling that I'm going to be quite bad at it." 

"Nah, don't say that," Yuuri smiled. "After all, you haven't even tried yet."

\------

Yuuri tried his level best to smother his laughter as he watched Viktor thinking hard, his eyes narrowed in consideration at Yuuri. Then Viktor's whole face lit up with realization as he said, "Oh my God, I'm Madonna!"

"Yes!" Yuuri laughed, mock applauding Viktor for finally figuring out who he was. But Viktor just stuck his tongue out at him before he took the post it note off his forehead and crumpled it before it landed on the glass table where several balled up notes already started to pile. 

"Rematch?" Yuuri asked, batting his eyelashes sweetly at Viktor. 

"Of course," Viktor grinned just as sweetly before starting to scribble another name on a post it note. 

Yuuri looked down at his own note, his mouth suddenly going very dry. _Now or never_ , he thought as he finally started to write down the name he'd wanted Viktor to guess from the very beginning of this game. 

Yuuri was sure that right now even Viktor was able to hear his racing heartbeat. 

Once the notes were stuck to their foreheads, they sat back to contemplate each other for a moment. Then Yuuri turned to say, "You've lost, so it's your turn." 

But even though Viktor was the one to start asking, Yuuri had guessed his character in a matter of a couple of questions. 

"So, I'm a Marvel character?" he asked.

Viktor nodded, biting his lower lip in order to keep himself from laughing. 

"What, am I Spider-Man?" 

That was the moment Viktor lost it, his laughter ringing loudly in the living room. 

"Hilarious," Yuuri said, rolling his eyes at Viktor, though the smile starting to tug at his lips betrayed his amusement. His post it note was added to the pile on the table before he said, "You know, it's your turn." 

"Okay, okay," Viktor said, taking a deep breath to calm his laughter. Then he started to list all the information he’d already gathered about his person, "Okay, so I'm a real person, I'm a man and I'm still alive. Err, am I famous?" 

"World famous even." 

Yuuri's smile had turned a tad nervous around the edges at the question, but he guessed that Viktor hadn't noticed.

"Oh, so I'm an actor." 

"Nope." 

"What, really?" Viktor's brow furrowed for a moment before he said, "So, music is my business then." 

"Nuh-uh." 

"Oh come on. I'm a politician, or what?" 

"Still nope." 

"Oh Yuuri," Viktor whined, accompanied by a small pout, "why are you so mean to me? You're always picking persons who are so difficult to guess." 

"Well," Yuuri said, giving Viktor a lopsided smile, "I guess I'll give you a hint then: sport's your thing." 

"Eh, you mean like basketball and soccer? But _Yuuri_ , I have absolute no idea about famous athletes and stuff," Viktor complained, still wearing that adorable pout.

"Oh, I'm sure you know this one." 

After another couple of questions and attempts at fruitless guessing, Yuuri decided that it was about time to drop some more...explicit hints. He found that his mouth was very dry as he said, "Viktor, you got it all wrong. Your sport's got nothing to do with balls of any kind. To be precise, your sport's got something to do with ice." 

There was a short beat of silence before Viktor eventually said, "Ice skating." 

It wasn't a question or anything. It was a statement, and Yuuri guessed that it finally began to dawn on Viktor just who they were talking about. 

"Yeah, ice skating," Yuuri nodded, his heart starting to beat faster as he went on, "and, you know, this guy is pretty amazing. He's won so many competitions and medals, but – nobody really knows why – retired some couple of years ago. Still, he's earned himself the title of a living legend."

There was a long beat of silence as Yuuri just kept on holding Viktor's gaze, and Viktor didn't say a word. That was until Yuuri finally said, his voice very quiet, "Do you know who you are now?" 

There was another beat of silence before Viktor eventually said, "Yuuri listen - " 

"Do you know who you are?" Yuuri repeated his earlier question, his words soft and quizzical. "Because I have no idea. Sure, I know the Viktor Nikiforov I've first met at the ice rink here in Hasetsu, but I do not know the Viktor Nikiforov who has been skating at the ice rinks all around the world, climbing podiums and winning gold medals." 

Another long beat of silence stretched between them. 

Yuuri closed his eyes for a brief moment, before he reopened them to say, "Viktor, if it is okay with you, I'd like to know who you really are. I mean, I’d really like to know. So…”

He let the sentence trail off, and he searched Viktor’s eyes for his reaction as he eventually whispered, “Would you tell me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uff, this was quite a lotta dialogue... But, hey, communication is key, right?
> 
> Haha, and well, guys, now we've got the serious talk in this chapter _and_ the next chapter! *waggles eyebrows nervously in hopes of not getting stoned for that cliffhanger*


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys, first of all I’m so, so, so sorry about leaving you hanging for so long! But real life responsibilities were hitting full force and stuff, and yeah… I’m sorry T^T
> 
>  
> 
> And now, ladies and gentlemen, please remain seated until the ride has come to a complete stop because HOLY SHIT I’m just as excited as you are about this chapter!!!  
> Err, yeah, alright, I just hope this isn’t going to be anticlimactic or anything… *laughs nervously whilst continuing to sweat profusely*

Viktor's eyes were fixed on him, his gaze not wavering, not looking away. He just kept on staring at Yuuri, and Yuuri started to wonder what he might be thinking right now. 

Then, Viktor let his eyes fall shut, inhaling deeply before eventually breaking the silence by exhaling, "Of course I will. Actually, I've wanted to for a long time now, but I - " 

Viktor cut himself off, running a hand through his hair accompanied by a small sigh, before he said, "It's just... The longer I kept waiting, the harder it got to bring it up." 

He didn't meet Yuuri's eyes as he said so, staring down at the pillows between them. Yuuri didn't know what to say, or rather, he didn't know if he was supposed to say something at all. So he decided to keep quiet and just listen to what Viktor had to tell him. 

"Because, well," Viktor eventually continued, his eyes flicking up to meet Yuuri's for a heartbeat, "it's not like I go boasting about how I used to be a figure skating star. It would be kind of...weird, you know?" 

Viktor gave a nervous little laugh at that, shooting Yuuri another quick look as if he wanted to see his reaction to the words but couldn't stand looking him in the eye for too long. Yuuri bit his lower lip at that, his brows drawing slightly together. He didn't want Viktor to feel nervous about the whole thing. Or uncomfortable, which would be even worse. So he placed a gentle hand on top of Viktor's before he said, "Viktor, it's alright. I'm not mad or anything. Just curious. Because I, uhm, feel like I want to know everything about you. I know that's selfish and stuff, but I just can't help it." 

At that, Viktor eventually looked up, finally meeting Yuuri's gaze. His usually glittering blue eyes seemed uncertain, maybe a bit vulnerable even, but as they met Yuuri's, they grew softer, and Yuuri could watch his facial muscles relax visibly with even the beginnings of a smile starting to curl his lips. 

"It's alright. I know that feeling," Viktor said, a small smile settling on his features. "Though my past actually isn't _that_ interesting." 

Yuuri rose a single brow at Viktor then before saying, "Well, you know, I've got the distinct feeling that that's not exactly the truth." 

At Yuuri’s words, Viktor huffed out a laugh. 

"Well, if you put it like this. So, uhm, where do I start? You said that you wanted to know everything, right?" Viktor asked with quizzical eyes. 

"W-Well, I mean, if that's alright with you!" Yuuri hurried to say because pressuring Viktor into saying something was the last thing he wanted to do. "A-And you don't need to tell me _every_ -everything, I mean, what I was trying to say was - " 

"Oh come on, I've already seen the embarrassing baby photos of you, so it'd be only fair, if I told you _every_ -everything," Viktor said with a fond smile. Then, there was a short beat of silence with Viktor just staring at Yuuri, probably thinking about how to begin his story, before he eventually started, "When I was still a child, it already became apparent that I had quite the talent for ice skating. You know, like some kids have a talent for drawing or playing an instrument and stuff. It was a kind of, well, unusual hobby for a kid my age to want to go to the ice rink as often as possible, but, hey, I just had so much fun skating that I couldn’t help it. And whenever my parents would actually take me to the ice rink, I was having a field day. 

"So, I loved ice skating more than anything else in this world, and once I'd become older, I was more than happy to devote my life to it by starting a career as a professional ice and figure skater. So that's basically how everything started," Viktor said almost nonchalantly. Yuuri's brows rose almost unintentionally in expectation for Viktor to continue. 

After a short moment, Viktor continued, "And after launching my career and being able to train under one of the best coaches in the country, I quickly started setting new junior records left and right. Actually, everything was pretty much _perfect_ , all of my dreams apparently coming true. ...You know, now that I say this out loud, it sounds, like, really ridiculous." 

"Ah, nonono, there's absolutely nothing ridiculous about it!" Yuuri hurried to protest, fearing that Viktor might change his mind about telling the whole story of his past after all.

At Yuuri's words, Viktor huffed out an amused laugh before saying, "Well, if you say so. So yeah, everything felt great and right, and I just loved the feeling of being the one who kept the people on the edge of their seat. Because it had always been my philosophy to surprise the audience with every single performance, to do the opposite of what people would expect me to do. And I was damn proud of myself every time I managed to surprise them and could even prove it with a gold medal. 

"And once I made my senior debut, I was able to reach an even broader audience. But at the same time, my expectations of myself became higher as well. ‘Are my programs still good enough to surprise them?’ I started asking myself. ‘And is it good enough to just keep on surprising them?’ I started wondering as well. Those questions kept on bugging me until I'd won my first Grand Prix Final. Apparently, my philosophy was good enough for the senior skating scene after all. But as time went by, and I'd won another two Grand Prix Finals and three World Championships, staying true to my philosophy got kind of hard. Because, how was I supposed to surprise a whole audience if I wasn't able to surprise myself any longer?" 

There was a short beat of silence, Viktor's gaze growing distant as if he was remembering something from long ago, before his gaze snapped back to the present. 

"After that," he continued then, his eyes meeting Yuuri's once again, "choreographing my programs for the next season turned out to be quite a challenge. I rose to it though, winning another two gold medals in the Grand Prix and the World Championships. And I guess it was around that time, when the reporters and the media started calling me a 'living legend'. You know, it felt kind of ironical since I'd barely managed to put my programs together the way I wanted them to. But what felt even more ironical was me winning next season's Finals as well.

“You see, at that time, reporters praised the way I poured my heart into my performances, they praised my inspiring passion. But actually, my love for the ice had long since died and my passion was long since gone. There wasn't even a single spark of inspiration left in me. When I stepped off the ice, I didn't feel the rush of adrenaline any longer. I just felt a deep, deep tiredness seeping through my body, and I started wondering just when the last time had been, when I’d actually enjoyed performing in front of an audience. 

"And after a reporter had asked me what I was planning for the upcoming season, I started reflecting on my life, reflecting on how things had turned out since I'd started my career as a professional figure skater. And well, I realized that I'd been neglecting my actual life for what felt like an eternity." 

Viktor stopped his narration for a moment to contemplate Yuuri before saying, "I'm not quite sure if I've ever told you, but there are actually only two things that matter to me: Life and Love. So, you see, when I suddenly realized that I'd been neglecting both of them for so many years, it felt like a real slap in the face. And after working so hard for those gold medals, I eventually realized that those scraps of metal meant nothing if winning them meant that I had to return to a cold and dark apartment with no one there to welcome me but Makkachin. 

"So the next time a reporter asked me what I was planning for the upcoming season, I told him that there wouldn't be a 'next season'. …Yeah, and that's how I made my retirement official." 

Yuuri waited for Viktor to go on, but as the silence stretched between them, he started blinking his eyes in confusion at Viktor, wondering at the quite abrupt ending of his story. Somehow at a loss, he said then, "W-Wow, the poor reporter. I guess you shocked him pretty much with that announcement." 

Viktor huffed out a small laugh before saying, "Yeah, the poor guy had been gaping at me like a fish. It’d been almost comical." 

"But weren't all of your fans quite shocked? And not only your fans, but the whole skating scene in general?" 

"Well, sure, they were quite shocked, though I didn't understand why they acted like they'd expected me to never retire. After all, it's not unusual for athletes to retire at the peak of their career," Viktor said, his lips pursed. "But not everyone was shocked, there was a wide range of reactions. They reached from sad to happy to mad and everything in between." 

"Mad?" 

"Yeah, my coach was pretty mad at me since I'd made the decision of retiring on my own and hadn't even told him about it. He'd only learned about my retirement when it'd already started to go viral. Well, he threw a pretty impressive tantrum after that, but, hey, Yakov had always been the type to get mad quickly." 

Viktor shrugged, accompanied by a lopsided smile. Then, after a short beat of silence, he added, "Though Yakov's reaction wasn't the most impressive one, or rather his words. You see, the words I still remember the most were 'Viktor Nikiforov is dead'." 

Yuuri's brows drew together before he said with a frown, "Those sure are harsh words. I hope you didn't take them to heart." 

"Ah, no, don't worry," Viktor laughed, and Yuuri was actually quite relieved to hear that beautiful sound. "The guy who said them to me had always been a sassy child with a potty mouth. So I wasn't surprised that he expressed his opinion on me retiring in such, err, _extreme_ words. But the striking thing about them hadn't been their harshness but rather their truth. At that moment, he might've been referring to the living legend who had died, but I realized that me, Viktor Nikiforov, had long since been dead. And after realizing this, I knew that it was about time to finally start living again." 

He held Viktor's gaze for a long moment before mumbling, "I see." 

Yuuri had always known that sometimes Viktor had quite a penchant for being overly dramatic, but hearing him say that he'd felt _dead_ when he'd retired was something entirely else. Yuuri had only been able to guess just why Viktor had decided to retire, and now, finally hearing the truth from Viktor, Yuuri realized that he’d probably never be able to understand just how lonely and tired Viktor must've felt back then. For some reason, this realization made Yuuri unbelievably sad, and he couldn't help but wish that he'd already known Viktor back then to give him the support and warmth and love he'd probably been craving so much. 

"Eh, Yuuri what's wrong?" Viktor suddenly asked, his eyes worried and confused. "D-Did I say something wrong? Oh I'm so sorry, but please don't start crying." 

"Huh?" 

Viktor leaned in then, bringing a hand up to gently wipe away a tear which Yuuri hadn't even noticed starting to roll down his cheek. Yuuri started to blink his eyes in surprise then, making more tears, which had started to collect at the corners of his eyes, roll down his cheeks. He was more than a little confused about it. 

Viktor, on the other hand, had brought a second hand up to cup Yuuri's other cheek as well as if he wanted to catch all of Yuuri's tears. His expression had turned from worried to just a little panicked.

"Oh Yuuri, please don't – I-I mean what should I – " Viktor started stammering, his brows drawing together quite adorably. "Oh I'm so sorry, but please don't cry! I-I mean, I'm not good with people crying in front of me."

Yuuri held Viktor's panicked gaze for a short moment before huffing out a laugh, making Viktor's eyes grow confused again. 

"It's alright, I'm not crying," he said with a small smile as he brought his hands up to take Viktor's wetted hands into his own. 

"But you - " 

"Shhh," he said soothingly, placing a gentle kiss on the fingers of Viktor's left hand. "You don't need to be sorry, you didn't say anything wrong. I'm just a little mad right now, that's all." 

"Mad? Why would you be mad?" Viktor asked, his confusion clearly audible in his voice. He didn't look panicked any longer though, his facial expression relaxing ever so slightly.

"Isn't it obvious?" Yuuri asked, his tone of voice now quieter than before. "It's because I wasn't with you back then. Because if I'd been with you, I would've given you my everything in order to make you the happiest person on earth. I would've stayed by your side, so you would’ve never had to feel lonely." 

Yuuri said those words quietly but determinedly, gently squeezing Viktor's hands while he did so. Viktor was staring back at him, his lips parted ever so slightly, as his eyes started to fill with emotion, turning shiny as the beginnings of tears started to form at the corners of his eyes. And before Yuuri could comprehend what was going on, he already found himself in a tight embrace, Viktor's face buried in his shoulder, holding on as if his life depended on it. But Yuuri was quick to hug Viktor back just as tightly, a relieved sigh, which he hadn't even known he'd been holding, escaping him. 

"Oh Yuuri," Viktor said, pouring so much emotion into this one word that Yuuri felt a small shudder run down his spine. Then, Viktor started to repeat his name over and over again, breathing it like a mantra.

After some moments, which felt way too short and like an eternity all the same, Viktor loosened the embrace enough to sit back and be able to look Yuuri in the eye. 

"Yuuri," Viktor breathed, his bottom lip shaking ever so slightly, "I don't know how I should live even a single day without you." 

Yuuri was about to say 'You don't have to' but wasn't able to. Because Viktor's eyes had fallen shut, and he was now leaning in to close the last remaining distance between them. And then their lips were brushing together tenderly, almost chastely, and Yuuri felt overcome with emotion, feeling like he'd been craving this so much, even more than he'd ever thought possible. 

They both melted into the kiss, Viktor's fingers finding their way into Yuuri's hair and burying themselves in it, Yuuri's arms wrapping around Viktor's neck to pull him closer, even closer. Viktor's lips tasted sweet, impossibly sweet, just like the hot chocolate he'd been drinking earlier. And Yuuri already found himself addicted to the taste, to the _feeling_ of Viktor's soft and beautiful lips against his, and he couldn't help but wonder how he'd been able to live without knowing this feeling up to now. Sure, they'd already kissed once, but the kiss back then had been nothing like this one, and Yuuri had never really allowed himself to think of it as a real kiss since he'd always blamed it on Viktor's drunkenness. But right now, Yuuri felt a little drunken himself, the kiss feeling more than real, a little ethereal even. 

When they eventually had to break apart for air, Yuuri felt awestruck when he met Viktor's eyes, which were so impossibly _gentle_ , so beautiful, looking at Yuuri as if he'd just given him the world. Though it felt just the other way round.

Like this, they just kept on staring at each other for a moment, Yuuri feeling his cheeks starting to grow hot as he said, “I guess if I wasn’t able to do it in the past, I’ll just have to make you the happiest person on earth in the present.”

“Oh Yuuri,” Viktor breathed, the corners of his lips curling up into one of the most dazzling smiles Yuuri had ever seen. And then, in the matter of a heartbeat, Viktor’s lips were on Yuuri’s again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah guys, I know that there are still some important questions that remain unanswered, _but_ those are going to be answered in the course of the story *thumbs up*


End file.
